New Delhi: Rescue teams have reached the site and begun work where the under-construction Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel collapsed in Telangana.
Eight workers – including two machine operators and two engineers – have been trapped at the site since February 22.
On February 23, the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) commissioner A.V. Ranganath said that National Disaster Response Fund teams were 50 metres away from them.
There are four NDRF teams of 138 personnel, along with 24 Army personnel, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams, 23 specialists from Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) who are working at the collapse site.
South First has quoted Nagarkurnool district collector B. Santhosh as having said that heavy silt accumulation is obstructing further movement towards the section where the trapped workers are believed to be.
Despite the rescue workers’ proximity, the situation is believed to be critical. Rescuers are yet to make direct communication with the trapped workers.
Oxygen and power supplies have been restored inside the tunnel, while dewatering and desilting operations continue, B. Santosh has said.
The challenges include debris and waterlogging that was described as “severe”.
Irrigation and civil supplies minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said that water inflow at the accident site has been hampering rescue operations.
Workers who managed to escape spoke to Indian Express. “We have often talked about minor water seepage incidents,” said Sanjay Sah, a welder.
The men who are trapped came from Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir.
