The bid by Indian rescuers to free 41 workers trapped inside a collapsed road tunnel for two weeks has failed prompting a new strategy.
It was gathered that the latest setback came as engineers driving a metal pipe through 57 metres of rock and concrete ran into metal rods and construction vehicles buried in the earth.
They are now exploring a new strategy in hopes that some of the trapped persons can be recovered.
Officials estimate the proposed vertical shaft would need to be 89 metres (291 feet) deep, a complex dig above the men in an area that has already suffered a collapse.
Work has also begun digging from the far side of the road tunnel, a much longer third route estimated to be around 480 metres.