‘Hope we can at least get his body’: Family of man trapped in Telangana tunnel fears the worst

The partial collapse of the tunnel took place on February 22 and since then, a major search and rescue operation has been underway. However, the accumulation of sludge and debris from the collapse, as well as water seeping into the tunnel, has prevented rescuers from reaching, or even making contact with, the trapped workers.

“Everyone is doing everything in their power to get to the trapped men. But we are not sure it will bear any result,” Gulab said.

Gulab Singh’s nephew Sunny Singh is 32 years old and has been working at the site in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district for the past five years as an operator of the tunnel boring machine. He got married three years ago.

The family is now coming to terms with the possibility that Sunny may not return, Gulab said.

He said Sunny’s father, an ex-Army man, had been “shot in the leg by underground militants years ago when he was in service”. “He cannot walk long distances, so he sent me here,” said Gulab, who has been visiting the site of the tunnel every day since he arrived in Nagarkurnool eight days ago.

“I visit the site every day to get updates. I once walked into the tunnel, but came back as it was not safe,” he said.

Over 300 search and rescue personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and other agencies, including the Army, have been trying to locate the trapped people over the past 11 days.

On Sunday, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy visited the tunnel and expressed confidence that the men would be found.

Rescuers at the spot say the task at hand is daunting because of the “seepage of water into the tunnel, remains of the tunnel boring machine and slush, are restricting movement”.

“We are still dewatering and desilting the tunnel and cutting down parts of the boring machine,” a rescuer said.