NAGARKURNOOL: Despite rescue teams making little headway in their efforts to save the eight workers trapped in the collapsed Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel, Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Wednesday, five days since the accident, declared that a concrete plan of action is ready to bring out the workers within two days.
The Marine Commando Force (MARCOS) of the Indian Navy and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) have been deployed to rescue the workers. The officials started using high-resolution cameras, which can function in near-total darkness, the minister stated.
He disclosed that the teams have been instructed to integrate global best practices in tunnel rescue operations, ensuring that the trapped workers could be reached in the shortest possible time.
Efforts were also being made to provide oxygen and other essential life-support resources inside the tunnel, Uttam confirmed.
After a review meeting, the minister said that the services of tunnel experts of the Border Security Force (BSF) were being availed. “Implementation of our action plan to rescue the trapped workers within two days started today,” Uttam declared. He said that advanced technology and engineering experts were pressed into service.
We also have to ensure safety of rescuers, emphasises Uttam
The workers were trapped in the tunnel at 8.30 am on Saturday and the rescuers have been working non-stop since.
Besides the 11 agencies, including the Army, Navy and NDRF, the officials have also engaged rat-hole miners, but to little avail.
Uttam explained that the slush and water would be pumped first to enable the rescue teams to reach the tunnel boring machine (TBM). The shattered tail of the TBM would be removed using cutters. This is expected to make further progress easier. “We hope that the workers are still alive,” Uttam prayed.
“The slush has spread over a 200-metre area in the tunnel. Army personnel have got a complete picture of the tunnel and would expedite the rescue operations,” the minister said.
“The assessment yesterday was that the people going into the tunnel to rescue the trapped workers would be facing great risk. Today, we have assessed the situation thoroughly and devised clear strategies to minimise the risk to the rescuers and move forward efficiently. We now have a well-defined plan and we are accelerating the rescue and relief operations with greater speed,” he asserted. “We are also exploring alternative access routes, including approaching from the side and the main exit, to expedite the rescue,” the minister added.
Uttam explained that other access routes were also being explored to mitigate risk and improve the speed of the rescue mission. “We are taking additional precautions to ensure rescuer safety while moving forward aggressively to save the survivors,” he said.
The minister confirmed that advanced imaging systems were being used. “Experts are continuously assessing the structural stability of the tunnel, ensuring that rescue teams can proceed safely without risk,” he added.
Uttam said that MARCOS naval commandos have now joined the operation, bringing in their expertise in extreme rescue missions. He expressed confidence that their intervention would significantly boost the efforts to save the workers and also hinted at the possibility of involving international tunnel rescue specialists if the situation required additional technical expertise.
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and top tunnel engineering experts from Delhi have also been enlisted to provide technical guidance for the operation. The minister said that remote-controlled devices, high-tech imaging systems and precision excavation equipment were being deployed to assess the tunnel’s internal conditions with greater accuracy.
The government also introduced reinforced support structures to stabilise the pathway leading to the TBM, ensuring that rescuers can navigate safely through the tunnel. Officials have been instructed to accelerate debris removal and reinforce weakened tunnel sections to prevent any secondary collapses.
The minister also reviewed the pathways leading to the workers and stressed the need for constant communication with those trapped to keep their hopes up, while the rescue teams worked to reach them as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy appealed to former minister T Harish Rao not to visit the SLBC tunnel to politicise the issue and not to obstruct the rescue operations. “The BRS, which did nothing for the SLBC, is now trying to derive political mileage from the accident,” he alleged.
