Robot cameras, dog squad brought in to help rescue 8 stuck in Telangana tunnel

To aid the efforts of rescuing eight workers trapped inside the Srisailam Left Bank Canal tunnel in Telangana, endoscopic and robotic cameras have been brought, along with an NDRF dog squad that will assist in the rescue operations. The cameras are being used to track what is going on inside the tunnel.

Similar techniques were used during the 2023 Uttarakhand tunnel collapse. L&T's endoscopic operator Dowdeep told news agency 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. 2 teams have come. Endoscopic and robotic cameras have been brought."

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Another tech operator Lakshmi Narayana told news agency PTI that the camera is being sent inside the tunnel through a narrow gap. “We are sending the camera inside the tunnel from the narrow space where we cannot reach. We will see the situation there. We have previously used this technique in the Uttarakhand Silkyara tunnel collapse incident, now we will use it here,” he said.

Accumulation of water and mud around the collapse site has made the rescue ops difficult with personnel trying to drain the water out. The exact location of the trapped workers has not yet been determined due to debris blocking the way.

Track live updates of Telangana tunnel rescue ops here.

The incident happened on Saturday morning when a portion of the under-construction SLBC tunnel caved in and eight workers got trapped inside. It's been over 48 hours since that happened, however, no major breakthrough has been achieved in the rescue operations.

According to PTI, the trapped persons have been identified as Manoj Kumar and Sri Niwas from Uttar Pradesh, Sunny Singh (J&K), Gurpreet Singh (Punjab) and Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, Santosh Sahu and Anuj Sahu, all from Jharkhand. Of the eight, two are engineers, two operators and four labourers.

Jharkhand minister Irfan Ansari told PTI that he is constantly monitoring the situation and will go to the site personally to rescue the workers if needed.

Chances of survival ‘very remote’

The chances of survival of the workers trapped inside the tunnel are “very remote", said Telangana Minister Jupally Krishna Rao, adding that the rescue operation might take three to four days. “To be honest, the chances of their survival are very, very, very, very remote. Because, I myself went up to the end, almost just 50 meters short (of the mishap site). When we took photographs, the end (of the tunnel) was visible. And out of the 9 meter diameter (of the tunnel)--almost 30 feet, out of that 30 feet, mud has piled up up to 25 feet", he told PTI. He added that they tried reaching out to them by shouting their names but there was no response.

He also said that a team of rat miners who rescued workers trapped during the 2023 Uttarakhand tunnel collapse have joined the rescue efforts.