In Telangana, rescue teams started cutting parts of the tunnel boring machine and other obstacles hindering their access to the area where eight persons were trapped in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel. The South-Central Railway’s Plasma cutters have joined the operation to clear the debris of steel and iron which has been hindering rescue works at the site.
Piles of sludge are coming out while dewatering and silt removal are in progress at the SLBC tunnel where a multi-agency rescue mission is underway to save the eight trapped workers.
Rescue teams have yet to develop contact with the trapped persons even six days after the accident occurred. State Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy informed that rescue operation is progressing at full speed, with top national and international agencies working in coordination to save the trapped.
He opined that the multi-agency operation, utilizing advanced equipment and expertise, would be completed in two to three days. Describing the accident as one of the most complex tunnel disasters in the history of the country, he said for the first time, so many specialized agencies are working together under a unified command for a rescue mission. Eleven expert agencies, including the Indian Army and disaster management teams, are leading the operation.
