Telangana Tunnel Collapse: Rescue Efforts Continue, No Sign of Survivors Yet

Hyderabad: The massive rescue operation to save eight trapped workers from an under-construction tunnel in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district entered its third day, with no signs of survivors yet. The tunnel, part of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project, collapsed on Saturday, leaving engineers, machine operators, and workers stranded.

Challenging Rescue Efforts

🔹 More than 60 hours after the collapse, multiple agencies, including the NDRF, Army, Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL), and HYDRAA, are engaged in intensive rescue operations.

🔹 The rescue teams are facing difficulty due to muck-filled sections in the tunnel and flooded areas spanning nearly two kilometers. Heavy motors have been deployed to dewater the site.

🔹 Construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has brought in advanced robotic and endoscopic cameras to detect any signs of movement inside the collapsed tunnel.

Also Read: SLBC Tunnel Disaster: Water and Silt Block Rescue Operations, No Contact with Trapped Workers

Survival Chances Dwindling

🔸 Nagarkurnool Collector Badavath Santosh stated that teams still need to cover another 40 meters to reach the collapsed section.

🔸 Minister Jupally Krishna Rao, after inspecting the site, expressed concern that the chances of survival were slim. Rescuers called out the names of the trapped men but received no response.

Trapped Workers Identified

The eight missing workers include:

🔹 From Uttar Pradesh: Project Manager Manoj Kumar, Machine Engineer Srinivas
🔹 From Jammu & Kashmir: Machine Operator Sunny Singh
🔹 From Punjab: Machine Operator Gurpreet Singh
🔹 From Jharkhand: Workers Sandeep Sahu, Santosh Sahu, Anju Sahu, and Jagta Khes

The Collapse and Immediate Aftermath

🔸 The accident occurred at the 14th km point of the SLBC tunnel.

🔸 Of the 50 workers inside at the time of collapse, 42 managed to escape, while eight remained trapped.

🔸 The Telangana government had recently resumed construction on this long-pending project, and excavation work had begun just four days before the disaster.

Rescue teams continue their relentless efforts, but time is running out as hopes of finding survivors fade.