Telangana: 8 workers feared trapped in SLBC tunnel collapse; SCCL roped into rescue

Hyderabad: At least eight workers were feared trapped when a section of a roof collapsed in the under-construction stretch of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) in Nagarkurnool district of Telangana on Saturday.

The police said that the construction company's team had gone inside for assessment, and it was verifying. The trapped workers included Manoj Kumar (Project Engineer) from Uttar Pradesh, Srinivas (Field Engineer) from Uttar Pradesh, Sandeep Sahu (Worker) from Jharkhand, Jataks (Worker) from Jharkhand, Santosh Sahu (Worker) from Jharkhand, Anuj Sahu (Worker) from Jharkhand, Sunny Singh (Worker) from Jammu & Kashmir, and Gurpreet Singh (Worker) from Punjab.

All of them are feared trapped as per information given by the company engaged in the work. "The incident happened at around 8 am after the roof collapsed when some workers had gone inside as part of the work at 12-13 kms inside the tunnel," the officials said.

The tunnel work was being carried out by more than 50 people using a tunnel boring machine (TBM). With police assistance, the rescue effort was being managed by the Nagarkurnool irrigation authority, who hurried to the tunnel. Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy and senior officials are overseeing relief operations.

Works resume after a five-year break

The incident happened during the ongoing construction of SLBC tunnel work on the inlet side of Srisailam. As per information, there was an influx of water when the work was being carried out, they said. On February 18, after a five-year break, work on the SLBC (Alimineti Madhava Reddy Project – AMRP) project resumed.

The State Government has decided to finish the tunnel work by December 2026 in order to achieve the goal of providing drinking water to the 200 villages in the district that are affected by fluoride and irrigation facilities to approximately 4 lakh acres in the combined Nalgonda district.

In 2005, the project received administrative permission for Rs 2,292 crore. In 2017, the cost was raised to Rs 3,153 crore, and again in 2024 to Rs 4,637 crore. Approximately Rs 2,646 crore has been spent on project work so far.

In order to eliminate any possibility of collapse, the work agency has resumed the project by stopping the water seepage and reinstalling the tunnel's completed liner. The twin tunnels, which were intended to extract 30 tmc feet of guaranteed water from Srisailam reservoir, were 44 km long overall, with 9.559 km of tunnel work still outstanding, according to the project authorities.

CM Revanth directs officials to carry out relief operations

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy directed the district Collector, Superintendent of Police and other officials to reach the place of the accident to carry out relief measures, it said. As per the directives of Chief Minister, Uttam Kumar Reddy, government adviser on irrigation Adityanath Das and other irrigation officials left for the spot in a special helicopter.

Revanth Reddy ordered the officials to provide better medical treatment to the injured in the incident and assured the affected families that the government will extend all kinds of support. SDRF and NDRF teams will also reach the accident site shortly. He also instructed the officials of all departments to be alert and take all precautions while undertaking rescue operations. The officials have also been asked to update the situation from time to time to the Chief Minister.

Expressing concern over the accident, Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy inquired about the reasons for the collapse and asked officials to bring out those feared trapped to safety. He also told the officials to provide treatment to the injured (if any), a release from his office said.

SCCL roped in to rescue 'trapped' workers in SLBC tunnel roof collapse

In order to assist with rescue efforts to free workers who may have been trapped when a section of a roof collapsed in the SLBC's under-construction section, a 19-member team from the state-owned coal mining company Singareni Collieries Company Ltd. departed for Srisailam Left Bank Canal in Nagarkurnool district on Saturday.

The SCCL has competence in rescuing persons in such situations as well as the required equipment. A company-sponsored rescue team is led by a general manager, a senior official said.

"SCCL possesses the essential expertise to address critical scenarios such as roof collapse. In addition, we have the necessary equipment imported from Australia, the United States, and Poland. The machinery and rock cutters are so advanced that they can cut huge rocks and boulders in minutes," SCCL CMD N Balram told vernacular media.

Telangana govt taking help of experts, Army for rescue

“This is an unfortunate incident, but we are committed to bringing them out safely. We are working to get out the eight victims trapped in the disaster safely. Indian Army, National Disaster Team, and rescue teams involved in this type of crisis in Uttarakhand have been deployed. The project engineer, site engineer, and six other people were trapped inside the tunnel, " the Irrigation Minister said.

The personnel were trapped 14 kms inside the tunnel. The seepage of water and soil began slowly and increased later prompting the workers to come out. They also heard a loud sound as they felt some "geological disturbance" outside the tunnel, he said. Those working ahead of a boring machine inside the tunnel were stuck there, he added.

The personnel of state fire service, Disaster Response Force were also ready to join the effort, he said, and added that the rescue effort is planned to be undertaken after the geological disturbance stabilises.The fire department and disaster management teams were working under DG Narayana Rao, with police teams led by IG Satyanarayana providing security.

A medical support team had been stationed at the site with ambulances and emergency staff on standby. Irrigation department officials were continuously monitoring the situation and coordinating rescue efforts.

"Because, it is 14 kms inside, there will be some challenges. But, we are getting the best tunnel experts in the country to oversee the rescue efforts," Uttam Kumar Reddy said. Asked if oxygen would be provided to those trapped, the minister quoted officials as saying that ventilation would not be a problem. The rescue personnel would reach the site by Saturday night, he added.

Addressing concerns over safety, Uttam Kumar Reddy reiterated that JP Associates and Robin Company had the full support of the Telangana government in managing the crisis. He said Robin Company was a globally recognised firm in tunnel excavation, and JP Associates had extensive experience in infrastructure projects.

The government was ensuring that all necessary technical support and logistics were provided to these companies to speed up the rescue operation, he added.