Telangana tunnel collapse: Robots to assist rescue operation from March 11

The Telangana government on Saturday decided to deploy robots from March 11 for rescue operations inside the partially collapsed SLBC tunnel and also to take the cadaver dogs again to look for the presence of humans.

Eight persons remained trapped inside the tunnel since February 22, after a part of it collapsed. The government has decided to deploy robots to avoid any danger to the rescue personnel as the conditions inside the tunnel, including water and slush, posed a challenge.

"The usage of bots for the last 70 mtrs (at the accident site) was discussed with (concerned) agency and robots will be placed and tried from Tuesday onwards, in addition to all the efforts which are being undertaken now," a senior official told PTI.

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has submitted an initial report in which, among other things, it has cautioned that rescue operations should be carried out with extreme caution and care in the last 70 metres, he said.

Digging would be taken up beyond five feet at the two points identified by HRDDs (human remains detection dogs) as workers are possibly trapped in the second layer of the now dismantled tunnel boring machine (TBM), he said. The HRDDs would be taken inside the tunnel on Sunday, he said. The canines joined the rescue operation March 7 when they were taken into the tunnel.

The regular operation of dewatering and desiltation by all the agencies would continue, the official added.

State Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, who visited the tunnel site and reviewed the ongoing rescue operation with officials of different organisations, directed authorities to take immediate steps to deploy robots for rescue work as fragments of the damaged TBM posed a danger to the rescue personnel.

The minister said the government would spend Rs 4 crore to undertake the rescue work by utilizing the services of robot experts (of a Hyderabad-based private company).

As the fragments of the huge TBM got submerged under water, soil and stones inside the tunnel, they caused a hazard to the rescue team, an official release quoted him as saying. Experts from the NDRF, Indian Army, Navy and other agencies are making relentless efforts to pull the trapped workers out to safety.