Telangana tunnel collapse: 8 workers trapped; rescuers call out names, get no response
NDRF team which tried to contact the trapped workers, says debris and water in the tunnel path need clearing to determine their location and extricate them
Rescue work is afoot to extricate eight people including two engineers and workers trapped inside a tunnel after a section of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool collapsed on Saturday (February 22).
The teams in the accident site at Nagarkurnool district, about 150 km from Hyderabad, called out the names of the trapped people, but there was no response, sources said.
The rescue personnel were able to reach up to the 13th km inside the tunnel, a short distance from where the mishap occurred around 8.30 am on Saturday.
“Yesterday at around 10 PM, we went inside the tunnel to analyse the situation. Out of the 13 km distance inside the tunnel, we covered 11 km on this locomotive and the remaining 2 km, we covered on the conveyor belt...When we reached the end of the TMV (Tunnel Boring Machine), we tried to establish contact with the trapped workers by calling out their names, but we could not find anything,” Sukhendu, NDRF’s deputy commander told ANI.
“There is a 200-metre patch filled with debris. Until this debris is cleaned, we will not be able to find out the exact location of the trapped workers and rescue them. Water is filled in the patch between 11 and 13 km of the tunnel, and until water is removed, debris cleaning work will not start. Our first team reached here around 7 pm yesterday...To rescue the trapped workers, first we need to complete the dewatering process and then remove the debris...The exact location of the trapped workers is yet to be ascertained..." he added.
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Debris needs clearing
According to official sources, state Ministers N Uttam Kumar Reddy and J Krishna Rao have left for the site to oversee the rescue operations.
"Rescuers will have to clear the debris filled with iron, muck and cement blocks. The teams were able to reach up to the 13th km where the collapse occurred. They are assessing the situation at the place where the Tunnel Boring Machine was last placed on Saturday," sources told PTI.
"The (rescue) teams have reached almost up to the last point (till the machine). We are assessing the situation," a senior police official said on Sunday.
Two engineers among trapped
Of the eight, six (two engineers and four labourers) belong to Jaiprakash Associates and two are employees of a US company.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday called up Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to inquire about the incident and assured all possible assistance from the Centre for the ongoing rescue operation.
On Sunday, the rescue operation was on, involving the NDRF, SDRF, Army personnel and the company's employees.
After the construction work resumed recently, as many as 50 persons went inside the tunnel in the first shift along with the tunnel boring machine which is 200 meter long, on Saturday morning.
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How the tunnel collapsed
They went up to 13.5 km inside the tunnel when the roof collapsed suddenly. Eight members including two engineers, who were ahead of the machine got trapped while 42 others ran towards the outside gate of the tunnel and came out.
Uttam Kumar Reddy had said work on the "world's longest tunnel of 44 kms" began to draw water from the Srisailam project to irrigate four lakh acres in the Nalgonda district. Of the 44 km, work on about 9.50 km remains to be carried out, he said.
Revanth Reddy was constantly reviewing the situation and he instructed the officials to expedite the rescue operation to save those trapped, the government said.
4 trapped workers from Jharkhand, CM offers help
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren urged his Telangana counterpart to ensure all possible assistance for the rescue of workers, four of which belong from the state.
"There are reports of some workers from other states including Jharkhand being trapped in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal Tunnel accident in Nagarkurnool district of Telangana. I request the Chief Minister of Telangana, Mr @revanth _anumula ji, to provide all possible rescue help in the tunnel accident. I pray for the safety of all the workers trapped in the accident from Marang Buru," Soren posted on X on Saturday night.
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The Jharkhand government is coordinating with the Telangana administration, and is ready to provide all necessary help, he said.
As per the preliminary information, the four workers from Jharkhand who are trapped in the tunnel belong to Gumla district, an official said.
