Telangana tunnel collapse: Whereabouts of four trapped persons located, condition remains unknown

Hyderabad: In a significant breakthrough, rescue teams on Saturday located four people trapped in the SLBC tunnel in Telangana's Nagarkurnool district.

The National Geophysical Research Institute's (NGRI) Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) technology helped teams pinpoint the trapped individuals, though their condition remains unknown.

State Tourism Minister Jupally Krishna Rao confirmed that efforts are underway to rescue four of the trapped workers by Sunday evening.

"Rescuing the remaining four may take an additional two days. The Tunnel Boring Machine had to be cut. Now manual digging has begun at the identified locations. At one location, we found they were buried under 24 feet of mud and silt," said the minister.

The incident occurred last Saturday when a portion of the under-construction Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel collapsed.

Since then, approximately 500 personnel from various agencies including SDRF, NDRF, Army, Indian Navy, Border Roads Organization, and Singareni Collieries have been engaged in what officials describe as one of the country's most complex rescue operations.

Krishna Rao, who was among the first to enter the tunnel after the collapse to assess the situation, had expressed on Friday that only a miracle could save the trapped workers.

At the time of the incident, 50 workers were present in the tunnel, with 42 managing to escape.

According to initial reports, the collapse was caused by a sudden inflow of water and soil that covered nearly 8 km of the excavation site. Jaypee Associates and Robin Company, responsible for tunnel boring, stated that the incident occurred within 30 minutes of starting work at 8 am.

Workers reported hearing a loud noise before water and soil rushed in, forcing them to scramble for safety. Those positioned near the Tunnel Boring Machine managed to escape, while workers in the front section were trapped.

The trapped individuals include Manoj Kumar (Project Engineer) from Uttar Pradesh, Srinivas (Field Engineer) from Uttar Pradesh, Sandeep Sahu, Jataks, Santosh Sahu, and Anuj Sahu (Workers) from Jharkhand, Sunny Singh (Worker) from Jammu & Kashmir, and Gurpreet Singh (Worker) from Punjab.

The collapse completely dismantled the Tunnel Boring Machine and blocked approximately 200 meters of the tunnel with concrete debris, mud, and water. Rescue teams have been working around the clock in shifts, ensuring proper ventilation and oxygen in hopes of finding survivors.

The tunnel was filled with six meters of sludge, mud, water, and concrete debris, requiring extensive dewatering and debris removal both manually and with machinery.

Initially, rescue teams reached 13½ kilometers into the tunnel using a locomotive, conveyor belt, and on foot. After reaching the collapse site, they called out the names of the trapped workers, but received no response.