HYDERABAD: Rescue teams intensified operations on Thursday, hoping to find survivors six days after the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel collapsed, trapping eight workers inside. Using gas and plasma cutters, the teams made some progress in clearing the debris of the tunnel boring machine (TBM).
Rescue personnel are expected to cross the previously inaccessible 40-metre area after the path near the TBM was cleared. A multi-agency rescue operation is in full swing at the SLBC, with the country’s top experts and advanced equipment deployed to save the trapped workers. Teams have been removing slush and dewatering the tunnel, where the water seepage rate is estimated to be around 5,000 litres per minute. Once the debris is cleared, teams will be able to reach the TBM.
The rescue mission involves personnel from the Army, Navy, NDRF, SDRF and Border Roads Organisation, with South Central Railway’s plasma cutters and other specialised equipment being used. Efforts are also underway to extract the TBM from the tunnel.
Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, after a review of the situation on Thursday, said the rescue operations would be completed within the next two to three days. Regular tunnel work would resume in two to three months, he said, describing the incident as one of the most complex tunnel accidents in the country’s history.
The minister pointed out that multiple national and international agencies — for the first time — have come together for a rescue mission of this scale. Eleven top agencies specialising in tunnel disasters are leading the operation. Teams are working round the clock, deploying the most advanced technology, including plasma cutters, high-grade shutters and debris removal machinery, while international experts oversee the strategy. “Removal of the TBM and the dewatering processes have been intensified to clear obstructions,” the minister said.