Telangana tunnel collapse: Experts from GSI, NGRI roped in to assess situation

Nagarkurnool: The Telangana government has roped in experts from GSI and NGRI to suggest the way forward regarding the rescue of eight persons trapped in Srisailam Left Bank Canal tunnel after a part of it collapsed on Saturday.

As the eight remain trapped for the fourth day, experts from the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and National Geographical Research Institute (NGRI) have been included in the rescue efforts, an official said on Tuesday.

Nagarkurnool District Collector B Santhosh on Tuesday said before taking any step forward stability of the tunnel has been taken into consideration even as dewatering is going on.

"As of now we are not able to communicate with them (trapped). We are taking the advice of the Geological survey of India and some other people. As of now we are dewatering and going forward. But for the last 40 or 50 meters we are not able to go. As of now we are taking the advice of GSI and NGRI. L&T experts have also come here," the collector told PTI.

He said the teams were not able to go into the last fifty meters where the eight persons were trapped, due to accumulation of muck and debris.

Besides GSI and NGRI, an Australian expert associated with L&T that has vast experience in tunnel related operations has been roped in to asses the stability of the SLBC tunnel at the accident site.

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy are expected at the accident spot today to oversee the rescue operations and make some crucial decisions, sources said.

Despite relentless efforts by the Indian Army, Navy, NDRF, and other agencies, no breakthrough has been achieved so far in the rescue operations as the teams had to navigate through thick muck, tangled iron rods, and cement blocks to reach the accident spot in the tunnel to extricate the persons from partially collapsed tunnel in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project in Telangana's Nagarkurnool district.

A team of 584 skilled personnel of Army, Navy, Singareni Collieries and other agencies along with central and state disaster response teams, have conducted tunnel inspections seven times, official sources said adding gas cutters to cut the metal rod are continuously working.

Telangana Minister Jupally Krishna Rao on Monday said the chances of their survival are "very remote," and rescuing the trapped individuals would take at least three to four days, as the accident site is filled with muck and debris, making it a daunting task for the rescuers.

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.