Minister's grim remark on trapped workers in Telangana tunnel collapse: 'We shouted their names, but they did not respond.'
The Telangana tunnel collapse occurred due to mud accumulation in the under-construction tunnel.
Arpit Pattnaik
In a somber update regarding the tunnel collapse at the SLBC project, Telangana Minister J. Krishna Rao announced on Monday that rescue workers called out the names of eight trapped workers but received no response. He indicated that the chances of their survival are "very, very, very, very remote."
The incident occurred after a section of the under-construction tunnel collapsed, leaving eight individuals trapped for over 30 hours. Minister Krishna Rao explained that a large accumulation of mud had filled the collapsed section of the tunnel.
"To be honest, the chances of their survival are very, very, very, very remote. I was nearly 50 meters away from the mishap site, and when we took photographs, the end of the tunnel was visible. Out of the 9-meter diameter of the tunnel, about 30 feet had 25 feet of mud piled up," he stated. He further emphasized that when they shouted the names of the trapped workers, there was no response, which greatly diminishes hopes for their survival.
Krishna Rao mentioned that a team of rat miners, known for rescuing construction workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand in 2023, has joined the rescue efforts. However, he cautioned that it may take the rescue teams three to four days to reach the trapped individuals due to muck and debris obstructing their path.
While the debris-clearing process continues, authorities are also pumping oxygen into the tunnel and attempting to dewater it. "Even if we assume the trapped individuals are in the lower part of the TBM machine and that it remains intact on top, the issue of air (oxygen) access persists. How will oxygen reach them from below?" he questioned.
Officials have reported that they are exploring alternative routes to reach the accident site by clearing soil mounds in the tunnel. The Indian Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and other agencies have been involved in the rescue operation since Saturday, but no breakthroughs have been achieved thus far.
The trapped individuals have been identified as Manoj Kumar and Sri Niwas from Uttar Pradesh, Sunny Singh from Jammu and Kashmir, Gurpreet Singh from Punjab, and Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, Santosh Sahu, and Anuj Sahu from Jharkhand.
