Telangana tunnel collapse: Rescue ops continue while hope for survival of 8 trapped persons dims

HYDERABAD: After being trapped for over two days under debris and muck, the chances of survival of the eight persons in the SLBC tunnel following a partial collapse appear bleak, even as every effort is made to reach them.

Despite relentless efforts by the Indian Army, Navy, NDRF, and other agencies, no breakthrough has been achieved so far in the rescue operations as the teams had to navigate through thick muck, tangled iron rods, and cement blocks to reach the accident spot in the tunnel to extricate the persons who have remained trapped for over two day inside the tunnel after a section of it collapsed in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project in Telangana's Nagarkurnool district on Saturday morning.

A team of 584 skilled personnel of Army, Navy, Singareni Collieries and other agencies along with central and state disaster response teams, have conducted tunnel inspections seven times, official sources said adding gas cutters to cut the metal rod are continuously working.

Sniffer dogs were also brought in to locate those inside the tunnel. However, due to the presence of water, they were unable to move forward.

The incident kicked up a political row with BRS Working President KT Rama Rao hitting out at Chief Minister Revanth Reddy in a social media post, saying the CM who is actively participating in MLC poll campaign has no time to visit the accident spot.

Reacting to that, Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy claimed that the opposition leader did not go to Sircilla where seven people died due to the Kaleshwaram project. The Minister added that two of his cabinet colleagues were at the tunnel site overseeing the rescue works.

Minister Jupally Krishna Rao on Monday said the chances of their survival are "very remote," and rescuing the trapped individuals would take at least three to four days, as the accident site is filled with muck and debris, making it a daunting task for the rescuers.

He also mentioned that a team of rat miners, who had rescued the construction workers trapped in the Silkyara Bend-Barkot tunnel in Uttarakhand in 2023, has joined the rescue teams to extricate the men.

Telangana Chief Minister has instructed officials to leave no stone unturned in the efforts to save the trapped persons, even as the Indian Army and the Navy have joined the rescue operations along with NDRF, SDRF and other agencies.

"To be honest, the chances of their survival are very, very, very, very remote. Because, I myself went up to the end, almost just 50 meters short (of the accident site). When we took photographs, the end (of the tunnel) was visible. And out of the 9 meter diameter (of the tunnel)--almost 30 feet, out of that 30 feet, mud has piled up up to 25 feet", Krishna Rao told PTI.

"When we shouted their names also, there was no response...so, there (seems to be) no chance at all," he said.

The persons who have been trapped in the collapsed tunnel for the past over 48 hours have been identified as Manoj Kumar and Sri Niwas from Uttar Pradesh, Sunny Singh (Jammu and Kashmir), Gurpreet Singh (Punjab) and Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, Santosh Sahu and Anuj Sahu, all from Jharkhand.

Of the eight, two are engineers, two operators and four labourers.

Krishna Rao said the process of clearing the debris is underway with several machinery in place.

According to him, the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) , which weighs a few hundred tons, got almost flushed away by about 200 meters after the collapse and due to the gushing water.

"Even, even assuming they (the trapped persons) are in the lower part of the TBM machine, assuming even if it is intact on the top, where is the air (oxygen)? Underneath, how the oxygen will go," he asked though pumping of oxygen and dewatering have been continuously done.

"For removing all the debris and all that, in spite of all types of efforts, all types of organizations (working), it takes, I think it takes not less than 3-4 days (to extricate the people)," Rao, who had overseen the rescue operations along with Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy, said.

Rao said the conveyor belt was being restored at the tunnel to clear the debris.

Telangana Minister for Roads and Buildings Komatireeddy Venkat Reddy expressed hope and prayed for the safe rescue of eight people, who remain trapped.

As the operation to rescue the eight personnel was in progress, the workers who survived the accident hoped for the safe return of their colleagues and recalled the tragedy that unfolded before their eyes.

Nirmal Sahu, one of the workers, said when they went inside the tunnel on February 22 morning, the gush of water increased substantially and loose soil also started falling off. Those who sensed the danger ran to safety but eight persons could not come out, Sahu, who hails from Jharkhand, told PTI videos.

Few workers suffered minor injuries while running out of the tunnel, said another worker Obi Sahu who is related to Sandeep Sahu, one of the trapped laborers.