Telangana tunnel collapse: No communication with those trapped; Army pressed into rescue operation | 10 points

Rescuers are yet to make contact with eight persons trapped inside an under-construction tunnel in the Nagarkurnool district of Telangana after a portion of its roof collapsed on Saturday.

“As of now, we don't have communication with them (those trapped),” Nagarkurnool District Collector B Santhosh was quoted as saying by PTI. "The rescuers will go inside and see, and then we will be able to tell.”

The eight persons are trapped around 14 km inside the tunnel of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project.

Track latest updates on Telangana tunnel collapse rescue operation here.

According to officials, 51 workers were carrying out excavation work through a hill, about 120 km from Hyderabad, when a part of the tunnel’s roof caved in at around 8.30 am. Most of the workers escaped but some, including two site engineers, were trapped behind a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) close to the 14-km mark in the tunnel.

The tunnel is part of the SLBC project, which seeks to provide 30 tmc ft (thousand million cubic feet) of water to Nalgonda from the Srisailam reservoir.

Also read: Telangana tunnel collapse: Minister says chances of survival of workers bleak; water, silt impede rescue operation

Telangana tunnel collapse: Here are the latest updates

1. Nagarkurnool district collector B Santhosh said that a rescue team had made headway and reached the spot where the tunnel boring machine was working during the incident, according to PTI.
2. He, however, adds that the silt present at the spot poses a challenge for rescuers to move ahead and reach the spot where the people are believed to have been trapped.
3. Oxygen and power supply have been made available in the tunnel and dewatering and the de-silting operation is also underway.
4. Those engaged in the rescue operations include four teams of the NDRF, 24 army personnel, SDRF personnel, 23 members from Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL), and members of the infra firm, according to the district collector. The Indian Army is working closely with all stakeholders to expedite the rescue efforts, according to ANI.
5. An NDRF official told a TV channel that they are unable to carry heavy equipment to the last point as there is water logging just 2 km before the 13.5 km point, reported PTI.
6. "There is water logging two km just before the 13.5 km point. It is a challenging task and due to this our heavy equipment is not able to reach the last point and hence dewatering has to be completed which will enable the equipment to reach ahead. Then only the removal of debris can start. Additional motors have been used to speed up the dewatering process," he said.
7. The officials said that when the NDRF personnel reached the 13.5 km mark, they called those trapped but did not get any reply from them. After this point, there is still a 200-meter patch, and it is only after reaching near them their condition would be known, he added.
8. The 8 trapped men have been identified as project engineer Manoj Kumar and field engineer Sri Niwas — both residents of Uttar Pradesh; workers Sandeep Sahu, Jagta Xess, Santosh Sahu, and Anuj Sahu, all from Jharkhand; Sunny Singh, a worker from Jammu & Kashmir; and Punjab-based worker Gurpreet Singh.
9. Earlier today, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi called up Telangana CM Revanth Reddy to take updates about the rescue operations. He urged the state government to leave no stone unturned in rescuing the trapped workers.
10. Telangana governor Jishnu Dev Varma also spoke with the Nagarkurnool district collector over the phone to receive an update on the ongoing rescue operations, according to PTI.

    (Inputs from PTI)