Efforts are continuing to rescue the eight workers trapped inside the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Telangana and the state government has now sought assistance from railways to remove debris. The South Central Railway has deployed two expert teams to cut heavy metals and establish contact with the trapped workers.
The Railways, which has expertise in cutting heavy metals using modern equipment has reached the spot to assist in rescue operations. South Central Railway Chief Public Relations Officer A. Sridhar said railways have the expertise in cutting heavy metals using equipment such as plasma cutter and Brocho cutting machine and they engaged in the efforts following the request from the district collector.
#WATCH | Telangana SLBC tunnel collapse incident | Nagarkurnool: Latest visuals from the tunnel, as rescue teams cut through rods with the help of cutting machines as they continue to carry out the rescue operation. Eight workers are trapped inside the tunnel after its portion… pic.twitter.com/SWqCXeTQN0
— ANI (@ANI) February 28, 2025
"District Collector, Nagarkurnool sought the help of South Central Railway in rescue operation by clearing iron and steel debris that have been hindering the rescue works at the site. SCR quickly responded to the call and deployed two teams of metal-cutting experts in the rescue mission,” the railway official told PTI.
The first team led by a divisional mechanical engineer, consists of a senior section engineer, 13 welders and two technicians from Secunderabad and they have reached the site. A second team has also reached the site, the official added.
#WATCH | Telangana SLBC tunnel collapse incident | Avadhesh Kumar from South Central Railway, "We went in (the tunnel) at 1 o'clock for the rescue operation. We have advanced cutting tools...We started at 11 o'clock yesterday...And we began the cutting immediately. We are 5… pic.twitter.com/3XGfGkU0JM
— ANI (@ANI) February 28, 2025
According to police, efforts to remove debris in the last 40-50 metres are continuing. Nagarkurnool Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Gaikwad said, “One team went into the tunnel at 7am. The clearing of debris has been going on since Thursday morning. Dewatering is also going on," PTI reported.
Eight persons got trapped inside the tunnel on February 22 after the roof of the under-construction tunnel partially collapsed. Among the eight, there are two engineers, two operators and four labourers from Jharkhand. The trapped persons have been identified as Manoj Kumar (UP), Sri Niwas (UP), Sunny Singh (J&K), Gurpreet Singh (Punjab) and Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, Santosh Sahu and Anuj Sahau, all from Jharkhand.
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Telangana Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy on Thursday said the rescue and relief operations are progressing in full swing, and that the operation would be completed in two days. “The rescue and relief operations would be completed within two to three days, and the tunnel works would resume in two to three months,” Reddy said.
The minister said once the tunnel boring machine stuck inside the tunnel is removed, the Army, Navy, rat miners and NDRF teams will make fresh attempts to rescue the trapped workers.
