Problems with the retrieval of heavy equipment from the bottom of the Nisultin River worsened Friday afternoon.

The heavy-duty apparatus fabricated specifically to hoist a loader and Snowcat out of the river sunk on top of the Komatsu WA 320 loader.

Eyewitness accounts from Teslin indicate the loader had been successfully lifted to the surface, but its front forks could not clear the front of the skid-like apparatus.

As the salvage crew contemplated what to do next, the weight of the loader and the skid proved to be too much for the river ice, which eventually gave way, resulting in both the loader and skid falling through.

The situation began 10 days ago when a Snowcat belonging to Northwestel Inc. was plowing a path beneath the bridge to make way for a scissor-lift required by phone technicians to relocate cables running alongside the bridge.

On the machine's third and final pass, it broke through the ice and sunk, forcing the operator to climb through a window onto the roof and jump to safety.

The following Sunday, Bob Hassard of Deadman Creek Enterprises attempted to use his loader to remove the Snowcat when his loader fell through and sunk in just over three metres of water.

Attempts to raise the loader last Thursday were foiled twice when the winch cable snapped.

Northwestel spokeswoman Anne Kennedy said late this morning a team of company engineers and technicians will try another approach tomorrow to lift the Snowcat, and hopefully the salvage apparatus now sitting on top of the loader.

The team will place two utility poles on each side of the Snowcat. The poles will be placed in holes drilled through the ice, and will be anchored to the ice, she explained.

A system of pulleys will be fixed to the poles and a bulldozer will pull the hoist cable from onshore.

If successful, said Kennedy, the poles will then be used to raise the skid apparatus so it can be used again to attempt to retrieve the loader.

She did note, however, that Hassard is also trying to secure the use of two barges to assist in the salvage effort, and plans may change if the barges arrive onsite.

The salvage effort has drawn a significant amount of attention in the community of 419. There has also been concerned raised about the potential for leaking fuel and the impact it would have on fish habitat and the community's drinking water supply.

Officials with Environment Canada, however, have been monitoring the situation and have so far found no evidence of fuel leaking from either the loader or Snowcat.

'We are just monitoring the situation right now and hoping the equipment will be removed from there sooner rather than later,' Chief Eric Morris of the Teslin Tlingit Council said this morning.

'We are really glad nobody got hurt. It is really unfortunate it had to happen, but there is no major oil leaking at this point, so we are glad for that.'