Telangana tunnel collapse: Survival chances of trapped workers ‘very remote,’ says Minister

Hyderabad: The survival chances for the eight workers trapped in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel after its partial collapse two days ago are "very remote," Telangana Minister Jupally Krishna Rao stated on Monday.

However, rescue operations are continuing at full pace to reach them. A specialised team of rat miners, who played a key role in the 2023 Silkyara Bend-Barkot tunnel rescue in Uttarakhand, has also joined the mission.

The Minister noted that extracting the trapped workers could take at least three to four days due to the extensive debris and mud at the accident site, posing significant challenges for the rescue teams. "To be honest, the chances of their survival are very, very, very, very remote.

"Because I myself went up to the end, almost just 50 meters short (of the mishap site). When we took photographs, the end (of the tunnel) was visible. And out of the 9-meter diameter (of the tunnel)—almost 30 feet, out of that 30 feet, mud has piled up to 25 feet," he told PTI.

He added that there was no response when names were called out. "When we shouted their names also, there was no response...so, there is no chance at all," he stated. The eight people who have been trapped for over 48 hours have been identified as Manoj Kumar and Sri Niwas from Uttar Pradesh, Sunny Singh from Jammu and Kashmir, Gurpreet Singh from Punjab, and Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, Santosh Sahu, and Anuj Sahu, all from Jharkhand. Among them, two are engineers, two are machine operators, and four are labourers.

According to Krishna Rao, debris clearance is in progress using multiple machines. He explained that the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), weighing several hundred tonnes, was pushed nearly 200 metres away by the collapse and the force of gushing water.

"Even, even assuming they (the trapped persons) are in the lower part of the TBM machine, assuming even if it is intact on the top, where is the air (oxygen)? Underneath, how the oxygen will go," he questioned, highlighting that oxygen is being pumped and dewatering operations are ongoing.

Despite continuous efforts by the Indian Army, NDRF, and other agencies, no breakthrough has been achieved in the rescue mission. Rao, who is overseeing the operations along with Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy, remarked, "For removing all the debris and all that, in spite of all types of efforts, all types of organizations (working), it takes, I think it takes not less than 3-4 days (to extricate the people)."

He also mentioned that the conveyor belt inside the tunnel is being restored to expedite the removal of debris. The collapse occurred on Saturday at the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project in Telangana's Nagarkurnool district, leaving the workers trapped inside. Rescue teams continue to work tirelessly, but challenges remain due to the scale of destruction inside the tunnel.