Hyderabad, Feb 23 The Indian Army has deployed the Engineer Task Force (ETF) of the Bison Division from Secunderabad for the operation to rescue eight trapped persons from the under-construction Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district.
A section of the roof, approximately 3 meters in length, of the under-construction tunnel collapsed on Saturday near Domalapenta.
According to a defence statement, swift rescue operations are ongoing. The Indian Army is working closely with all stakeholders to expedite the rescue efforts. The Telangana & Andhra Sub Area HQ is coordinating the rescue operations.
Army Medical Teams and Engineers equipped with high-capacity pumping sets, armoured hoses, excavators, JCBs, and bulldozers, are working tirelessly to clear debris and facilitate safe evacuation, it said.
A joint meeting with the civil administration, the NDRF, the SDRF, the Army, and tunnel construction contractors was in progress to work out a strategy.
According to local officials, about 120 personnel from the Indian Army are participating in the rescue operation.
At least two workers were injured and eight others were trapped when a portion of the tunnel being dug as part of SLBC collapsed near Domalapenta.
A total of 50 persons were working on the left-side tunnel when the roof collapsed for three meters. The accident occurred at the 14th km point.
While 42 workers came out of the tunnel, the remaining eight were trapped. Those trapped include two engineers and two machine operators. They hail from Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir.
Rescue teams from the Army, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL), and the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) were making intensive efforts by pumping out water and clearing debris.
The teams were racing against time to reach the 14th-kilometre point where the roof of the tunnel collapsed.
They were about 100 metres away from the spot but water and silt in the tunnel were hampering further advance.
NDRF officials said unless water is pumped out, they can’t move heavy equipment to clear the debris and reach the spot where the workers are trapped.
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