Telangana Tunnel Collapse Rescue Live Updates: Temporary halt in rescue operation as mud, slush rises inside tunnel

Rescue efforts are underway to free eight men trapped in a Telangana tunnel since Saturday. A multi-agency team is clearing the locomotive track to transport equipment for dewatering and slush removal, as water and debris have hindered rescue operations. The tunnel collapsed 13.5 km inside, trapping the men, and rescuers are working to create a path for earthmoving machines to reach the site. Read more.

Nagar Kurnool District SP, Vaibhav Gaikwad told The Indian Express Tuesday that no contact could be established with the eight men trapped inside. "As of now, the rescue teams are trying to clear the path for the locomotive to reach the spot of the mishap. There are challenges in operating heavy machines to clear the mud at that place although a bulldozer has been pressed into service there. Dewatering is going on continuously. They are removing whatever debris they can. Removing parts of the twisted and mangled tunnel boring machine is proving to be a challenging task," Gaikwad said. Officials said that reaching the front portion of the boring machine is the key as that is where the eight persons are likely to be trapped but it is proving to be very difficult as it is covered with a thick layer of mud and debris.

A war of words erupted between the ruling Congress government in Telangana and the opposition BRS, as the latter blamed CM Revanth Reddy for focusing on political engagement rather than rescue operations.

Charging that Revanth Reddy was “missing” from the tunnel site but was addressing multiple public meetings, BRS working president K T Rama Rao or KTR, and senior BRS leader T Harish Rao criticised the CM for “giving priority to the MLC election campaign rather than overseeing the rescue operation”.

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Telangana state government has roped in experts from Geological Survey of India and National Geographical Research Institute besides an Australian part of L&T who has vast experience in tunnels, to suggest the way forward regarding the rescue of eight persons who remain trapped for the fourth day in Srisailam Left Bank Canal tunnel after part of it collapsed on Saturday.

Nagarkurnool District Collector B Santhosh on Tuesday said before taking any step forward stability of the tunnel has been taken into consideration even as dewatering is going on.

“As of now we are not able to communicate with them (trapped). We are taking the advice of the Geological survey of India and some other people. As of now we are dewatering and going forward. But for the last 40 or 50 meters we are not able to go. As of now we are taking the advice of GSI and NGRI. L& T experts have also come here,” the collector told PTI. (PTI)

The family members of four workers from Jharkhand, who have been trapped in a collapsed section of a tunnel in Telagana, left for the southern state on Monday, officials said.

At least eight workers, including four from Jharkhand's Gumla district, were trapped inside the tunnel after a section of it collapsed in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project in Telangana's Nagarkurnool district on Saturday morning.

"Under the leadership of Gumla district administration, one member each from four families and a police officer left for Telangana from Birsa Munda Airport," the Chief Minister's Office said in a post on X.

The family members were sent to Telangana upon the directives of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, according to an official statement.

Earlier, Soren had said that state officials were in constant touch with their counterparts in Telangana for updates on the situation. (PTI)

District Collector Badhavath Santhosh provided an update on the ongoing rescue operations. Santhosh said that the primary focus remained on rescuing the workers who were trapped, noting that while the teams had been unable to reach the last 40 meters yesterday, necessary measures are now being taken to ensure their safe retrieval.

Speaking to ANI, District Collector Badhavath Santhosh of Nagarkurnool said, "Dewatering is being done while the Indian Army, along with NDRF and SDRF, is going inside with additional equipment. Our major focus will be on rescuing the workers stuck inside. Yesterday, they could not reach the last 40 meters, and now necessary measures are being taken."

“... I pray to God. We need to first rescue those eight people. I will go inside the tunnel. These are my brain-trained projects. I started in 2005,” says Telangana Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy.

Telangana CMO office posted on X, "The Chief Minister @revanth_anumula is constantly reviewing the situation regarding the SLBC accident. The Chief Minister has been closely monitoring the rescue operations and has been talking to the ministers and senior officials several times to get to know the situation. Ministers @UttamINC and @jupallyk_rao closely monitored the rescue operations that continued relentlessly for the second day to rescue the 8 workers trapped in the tunnel. Along with the Indian Army, the Indian Navy has also been involved in the rescue operations. The NDRF and SDRF agencies are already jointly conducting the rescue operation. The Chief Minister has alerted the officials to continue all efforts to save the workers and not leave any opportunity. Officials explained to the Chief Minister that the water entering the tunnel has become a hindrance to rescue operations and that arrangements have been made to continuously drain the water and provide oxygen to the tunnel. They said that they are removing the mud mounds that have collapsed in the tunnel and are examining alternative routes to reach the accident site."

A senior official leading the operation at Domalapenta told The Indian Express, "The engineering company and the engineers have to strengthen the tunnel roof for a certain stretch. They have to clear debris upto 6m height on the tunnel boring machine. People have to dig through the muck and bring the debris out for a stretch of 14 km till the mouth of the tunnel on the conveyor belt. A small excavator has to be taken in and we can't use too many excavators due to the space constraints. It is a strenuous operation involving a lot of physical labour and long hours. Dewatering is being done and silt is being taken out. A lot of people are going in and working for a few hours and coming out. We have to restore the ventilation system till the end even though it is working fine to some extent. It is a very challenging task and we would like to finish as soon as possible, but given the conditions it looks difficult."

Endoscopic and robotic cameras on Monday were brought to the Nagarkurnool (SLBC) tunnel for the rescue operation. The NDRF Dog squad has also been deployed to assist in the operation.

L&T's endoscopic operator Dowdeep told ANI, "Through the endoscopic camera, we can track what is happening inside the tunnel. We have done this during the rescue operation in Uttarakhand as well. Two teams have come. Endoscopic and robotic cameras have been brought."

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is actively overseeing the ongoing rescue operations at the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel collapse site.

While rescue teams are flocking the area, the hope of the eight trapped workers coming out alive seems bleak.

"Our mission is left for around 200 meters. Dewatering is going on. It is very difficult right now. After dewatering, we will do the cutting," a boring machine operator said.

The persons who have been trapped in the collapsed tunnel for more than 48 hours now have been identified as Manoj Kumar and Sri Niwas from Uttar Pradesh, Sunny Singh (Jammu and Kashmir), Gurpreet Singh (Punjab) and Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, Santosh Sahu and Anuj Sahu, all from Jharkhand.