SLBC Tunnel Collapse: No communication yet with trapped workers; silt a challenge to bore holes

Hyderabad: Minister for Irrigation N Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the State government is collaborating with the Indian Army, Navy, NDRF and all other tunnel experts in the country to try to save the eight people who have been trapped inside a tunnel for the past 30 hours after a section collapsed in the SLBC project.

Overseeing the rescue efforts from his campsite at the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project site, Reddy expressed his confidence that the stranded workers would be rescued by this evening.

Speaking to the media persons on Sunday, the irrigation minister said they are monitoring the situation on a minute-to-minute basis. When the tunnel collapsed, over 70 people were working inside, and a majority of them were able to escape and return via internal train or locomotive.

‘9 km of the 44 km remained to be completed’

“However, eight people have been missing since yesterday. We’re hoping and praying that they’re safe and that we can find, locate and save them by this evening,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said. The SLBC project was approved 35 years ago, and work began roughly 30 years ago. He stated that construction on around 9 km of the 44 km remained to be completed.

“We are trying to save the lives of the eight persons who went missing,” the minister said and added that the work on the ‘world’s longest tunnel of 44 km’ began to draw water from the Srisailam project to irrigate four lakh acres in the Nalgonda district.

Rescuers reached tunnel boring machine spot

Nagarkurnool District Collector B Santhosh said that a rescue team made headway and reached the spot where a tunnel boring machine was working during the incident. However, silt poses a challenge to move further to reach the spot where the people are believed to have been trapped, he added.

The collector, who is supervising the rescue operation, said four NDRF teams—one from Hyderabad and three from Vijayawada, comprising 138 members, 24 personnel of the army, personnel of SDRF, 23 members from SCCL with equipment besides members of the infra firm—are engaged in the rescue operations.

No communication with the trapped yet

The collector further said that rescuers had reached the point where the tunnel-boring machine is there. As there is silt after that point, the NDRF team is making plans to go forward. Oxygen and power supply has been made available in the tunnel and dewatering and the de-silting operation is also underway. “As of now, we don’t have communication with them (those trapped). The rescuers will go inside and see and then we will be able to tell,” he said.

NDRF Dy Commander Sukhendu told vernacular media that one of the teams went inside the tunnel last night. There is a lot of debris and the TBM is also damaged and its parts are scattered inside.

“There is water logging 2 km just before the 13.5 km point. It is a challenging task and due to this our heavy equipment is not able to reach the last point and hence dewatering has to be completed which will enable the equipment to reach ahead. Then only the removal of debris can start. Additional motors have been used to speed up the dewatering process,” he said.

The team after reaching 13.5 km called those trapped, but did not get any reply from them, he said. After this point, there is still a 200-meter patch and it is only after reaching near them it would be known their condition, he added.

Indian Army joins rescue efforts after tunnel collapse

A section of the roof, approximately 3 meters in length, of the under-construction Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel collapsed near Domalapenta in Nagarkurnool District. The incident has left 6-8 workers feared trapped inside.

Ongoing swift rescue operations include:

- Telangana and Andhra Sub Area coordinating the rescue operations.

- The Engineer Task Force (ETF) of the Bison Division from Secunderabad has been deployed.

- Army Medical Teams and Engineers equipped with high-capacity pumping sets, armoured hoses, excavators, JCBs and bulldozers, are working tirelessly to clear debris and facilitate safe evacuation.

- Joint meeting with the Civil Administration, NDRF, SDRF, Army and Tunnel construction contractors under progress.

- The Indian Army is working closely with all stakeholders to expedite the rescue efforts.

The Indian Army’s priority remains the swift and safe extraction of those trapped inside. Further updates will follow as the operation progresses.

Governor inquires about ongoing rescue operations

Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma, spoke over the telephone with the District Collector of Nagarkurnool and enquired about the ongoing rescue operations. The Governor has been briefed on the efforts to ensure the safe return of individuals trapped in the tunnel collapse in Nagarkurnool District.

The District Collector provided updates on the rescue operations, informing that the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and the Army, along with experts, are actively engaged at the site.

Jishnu Dev Varma has directed the authorities to make all-out efforts to ensure the safe return of those trapped in the tunnel. He has also emphasized the need to expedite the rescue operations and instructed officials to keep him regularly informed of the developments.