Telangana tunnel collapse | Rescue teams stare at 10,000 cubic meters of mud 'challenge'

Hyderabad: The rescue teams at the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel are staring at a herculean task of clearing around 10,000 cubic meters of mud sludge accumulated with a height of around 10 feet to reach the final '40 meters' of the tunnel where eight persons are suspected to be trapped. The rescue operation is being termed as the most challenging and complicated.

Five days have passed since part of the under-construction tunnel at Domalapenta in Nagarkurnool district collapsed last Saturday, and eight persons involved in the excavation work have not been seen. With no space to make a turn inside, it's difficult for trucks to go in and transport back the sludge. The conveyor belt that was attached to the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) that was inside the tunnel was badly damaged, closing the option of transporting the silt through the belt.

The severely damaged TBM is obstructing the rescuers' path to the end point. While reaching the collapsed area of the TBM through the tunnel, navigating through mud and concrete debris is one challenge; searching through the mud in the last 100 meters of the final section is another.

Marine Commandos (Marcos) of the Indian Navy have also been roped in on Wednesday. “ Initially, the plan involved sending a JCB inside the tunnel to remove the mud. But how will the machine navigate inside in a 360-degree manner? There is already a significant amount of water surrounding the area, making it impossible for the machine to maneuver. There is a risk of further collapse of the upper surface if the silt starts clearing, which may lead to a bigger disaster. On top the heavy TBM is filled with concrete debris and iron parts. Its unimaginable to bring out the approximately 10,000 cubic meters of mud, transporting it through trucks that may each carry around 5 cubic meters only. Without Clearing the mud and reaching the last 40 meters where they are suspected to be trapped is not possible,” a senior official of the Telangana government who has been part of the rescue operations at the SLBC tunnel told DH.

Jaypee Group's founder and chairman, Jai Prakash Gaur, said such accidents were possible during the construction of major engineering projects. Speaking to reporters at the tunnel after meeting with the roads and buildings minister, Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, and other officials, Gaur said, "In the face of nature, sometimes, there is little we can do. We will try our best to ensure that all eight trapped individuals are rescued. At the same time, the project must be completed. In such challenging works, these incidents occur. I have witnessed six or seven such accidents in my lifetime.”