Location of persons trapped inside SLBC tunnel not known yet: Telangana CM

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Sunday said the location of eight persons trapped inside the partially collapsed tunnel of the SLBC project is not known yet exactly and that the government is making efforts to expedite the rescue operation.

Reddy, who spoke to reporters after visiting the accident site in Nagarkurnool district, said the rescue operation would gain speed after the damaged conveyor belt is repaired.

The conveyor belt which would help in carrying silt is expected to be restored by Monday.

"They (rescue personnel) are not able to come to a full understanding on where the humans and the machinery got stuck. They have a preliminary estimation but not fully," he said.

He said the government suggested to officials leading the rescue operation to use robos inside the tunnel, if necessary, to avoid any danger to the rescue personnel.

The government is determined to resolve the issue and is also ready to support the families who suffered due to the accident, he said.

Though the rat miners carried out digging at the places identified by the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) as possible location of humans, it did not reveal any human presence, the chief minister said.

The slush and water emerging inside the tunnel hampered the rescue operation, he said.

The conveyor belt would be useful to remove the silt once it is repaired.

Eight persons--engineers and labourers have been trapped under the collapsed roof of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel since February 22 and the rescue operations are on in full swing to pull them out to safety.