Telangana tunnel collapse: Minister says chances of survival of workers bleak

Telangana minister Jupally Krishna Rao on Monday, 24 February, said the chances of survival for the eight individuals trapped in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel are "very remote," though every effort is being made to reach them.

The tunnel partially collapsed two days ago, trapping the workers approximately 13.5 kilometers inside. Rescuing the trapped individuals would take at least three to four days. The operations have been challenging due to debris and waterlogging, with multiple agencies, including the Indian Army, Navy, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), involved in the efforts, the minister said.

Continuous dewatering and oxygen supply are being maintained as teams work to remove mud and explore alternative routes to reach the trapped workers.

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.

"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 mishap 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", he told PTI.

"When we shouted their names also, there was no response...so, there is 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.

Despite relentless efforts by the Indian Army, NDRF, and other agencies, no breakthrough has been achieved so far in the rescue operations to extricate the eight persons who have remained trapped for over 48 hours inside the tunnel after a section of it collapsed in the SLBC project in Telangana's Nagarkurnool district on Saturday.

On 20 February, the decomposed bodies of three more miners, trapped in a coal mine in Assam's Dima Hasao district have been recovered, 44 days after they went missing in the quarry, an official said.

With PTI inputs