Telangana tunnel collapse: Workers hope for safe return of colleagues

Hyderabad: As the operation to rescue the eight personnel trapped inside the tunnel of SLBC project in Telangana was in progress, the workers who survived the mishap hoped for the safe return of their colleagues and recalled the tragedy that unfolded before their eyes.

Nirmal Sahu, one of the workers, said when they went inside the tunnel on February 22 morning, the gush of water increased substantially and loose soil also started falling off.

Those who sensed the danger ran to safety but eight persons could not come out, Sahu, who hails from Jharkhand, told PTI videos.

"We expect the government to bring our colleagues out safely. We hope to see them alive," he said.

Few workers suffered minor injuries while running out of the tunnel, said another worker Obi Sahu who is related to Sandeep Sahu, one of the trapped labourers.

Despite relentless efforts by the Indian Army, NDRF, and other agencies, no breakthrough has been achieved so far in the rescue operations to extricate the eight persons who have remained trapped for over 48 hours inside the tunnel after a section of it collapsed in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project in Telangana's Nagarkurnool district on Saturday.

Telangana Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao on Monday said the chances of survival of the eight persons are "very remote," though every effort was being made to reach them.

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.

The Minister stated that 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.

Of the eight, two are engineers, two operators and four labourers. They hail from Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Jharkhand.