Hyderabad

Two teams from construction giant Larsen & Toubro, equipped with advanced technology, joined the rescue operation on Monday to save eight workers trapped in an under-construction tunnel after a portion collapsed on February 22 in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district.

L&T, known for its experience in rescue operations such as the Uttarakhand tunnel collapse, has brought endoscopic and robotic cameras to assist in the operation.

Nagarkurnool district Collector Badavath Santosh explained that the rescue teams need to cover an additional 40 meters to reach the collapse site, where the tunnel is filled with muck, making further progress challenging.

The L&T teams will use the advanced cameras to sift through debris and communicate with any survivors at the end of the tunnel.

These same tools were used in the 2023 Uttarakhand Silkyara Bend-Barkot tunnel rescue, where 41 workers were saved after being trapped for 17 days.

Multiple teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Army, and other agencies continued the rescue operation on Monday.

More than 48 hours after a portion of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel collapsed, the fate of the eight workers, including two engineers and two machine operators, remained unknown.

Helicopters from the Indian Air Force and Navy are on their way to Srisailam to aid the rescue.

NDRF teams managed to reach the tunnel boring machine at the 14th-km mark, but debris hampered their search.

The tunnel remains flooded for about two kilometres, making the rescue operation even more difficult for over 300 rescuers. Heavy pumps have been deployed to remove water.

Additional challenges arose as the loco train used to enter the tunnel broke down at the 11th kilometre, though efforts are underway to fix the issue.

Teams from NDRF, the Army, Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), and Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) are working hard to dewater and desilt the tunnel.

Ministers Uttam Kumar Reddy and Jupally Krishna Rao, who have been overseeing the operation, entered the tunnel by loco train on Sunday. After exiting, Jupally Krishna Rao stated that the chances of finding survivors were slim.

Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy assured that all efforts were being made to safely rescue the trapped men, and that the possibility of digging down from the top to reach them was being explored.

The collapse occurred when 50 workers were digging the SLBC tunnel near Domalapenta. The roof collapsed for three metres, trapping eight workers. While 42 workers managed to escape, the remaining eight, including two engineers and two machine operators, were trapped.

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The trapped men are from Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir.

Those trapped include Project Manager Manoj Kumar (Uttar Pradesh), Machine Engineer Srinivas (Uttar Pradesh), Machine Operators Sunny Singh (J&K) and Gurpreet Singh (Punjab), along with four workers from Jharkhand: Sandeep Sahu, Santosh Sahu, Anju Sahu and Jagta Khes.