Telangana tunnel collapse: Robotic teams enter SLBC tunnel to locate trapped workers

NAGARKURNOOL(Telangana): To intensify the search and rescue operation, robotic teams on Tuesday went inside the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool, where seven workers are still trapped inside the tunnel after a portion of it collapsed.

110 rescue personnel, along with Anvi Robo experts, entered the tunnel to carry out the operations.

Rescue teams are likely to retrieve one more dead body soon. Due to complications, rescue teams couldn’t reach the dead-end spot where dead bodies are stuck.

Earlier on Sunday, the rescue teams traced the body of a worker from the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Nagarkurnool.

Telangana CM Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy expressed condolences over the death of the worker, identified as Gurpreet Singh, an official statement from Telangana CMO read.

The Chief Minister also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakhs for the kin of the deceased. The rescue teams had recovered one body on Sunday, as per officials.

The Kerala cadaver dog squad were roped in to assist in the rescue efforts and has found human remains inside the tunnel.

According to rescue officials, the deceased was found trapped in a machine inside the collapsed section of the tunnel.

“We found one dead body stuck in the machine, with only the hand visible. The rescue teams are currently cutting the machine to retrieve the stuck body,” said the official.

On Saturday, Telangana Minister for Irrigation and Civil Supplies Uttam Kumar Reddy announced that robotic technology had been deployed to accelerate the ongoing rescue operations at the SLBC tunnel near Domalapenta in the Nagarkurnool district, where eight workers were trapped.

Calling the incident a national disaster, he emphasised that the state government is utilizing the best global technology to overcome the challenges in the final stretch of the 14-kilometre-long tunnel.

On February 22, a three-meter section of the roof of an under-construction stretch of the SLBC tunnel collapsed at the 14 km mark near Domalapenta in the Nagarkurnool district in Telangana. The collapse occurred just four days after construction work had resumed following a lengthy hiatus. While some workers managed to escape, the eight remained trapped. (ANI)