GUWAHATI: A specialised team of rat-hole miners on Monday, February 24, joined the ongoing operation to rescue eight workers trapped inside a collapsed tunnel in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district.
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The team of rat-hole miners are known for their prior successful rescue of workers trapped in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara Bend-Barkot tunnel in 2023, but officials have expressed grave concerns about the chances of survival for those trapped inside the Telangana tunnel, with Telangana minister Jupally Krishna Rao reportedly calling them "very, very remote."
The collapse occurred on Saturday morning when a three-metre section of the roof of an under-construction stretch of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel caved in near Domalapenta. The incident trapped the eight workers, including engineers and labourers from Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab, and Jammu & Kashmir. The disaster took place just four days after construction had resumed following a prolonged hiatus.
The rescue operation, involving the Indian Army, Navy, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), has been complicated by massive mud accumulation inside the tunnel.
Rescuers have deployed robotic and endoscopic cameras to assess the situation inside, while an NDRF dog squad has also been brought in. Reports suggest that a trapped worker’s hand has been spotted in the debris, further intensifying efforts to reach the victims.
Nagarkurnool district collector B Santhosh reportedly stated that dewatering is underway while additional equipment is being used to advance the rescue. However, an SDRF official revealed that reaching the collapse point is nearly impossible, as the tunnel is completely blocked with mud reaching knee level.
Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is receiving minute-by-minute updates, as the rescue teams race against time in this rescue operation.
