8 laborers Trapped In A Tunnel for 48 hours in Telangana
Nagarkurnool, 24th February 2025: Eight people have been stranded in Telangana’s Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel for more than 48 hours. Six team members who successfully evacuated laborers from the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand also reached Telangana. The team members are engaged in the rescue operation. The Army has deployed the Engineer Task Force (ETF) of Secunderabad’s Bison Division.
A 44 km-long tunnel is being constructed in the Nagarkurnool district of Telangana. Water was leaking about 14 km inside this tunnel. A team of workers and engineers was engaged in stopping it. Then about three meters long part of the tunnel collapsed. Four laborers and four company employees involved in tunnel construction were trapped inside.
A total of 50 people were on the spot at the time of the accident. However, the others managed to escape. The tunnel construction work was resumed four days before the accident. A part of the tunnel suddenly collapsed near Domalpenta. The accident took place 14 km inside the tunnel. Two laborers were injured as a portion of the roof of the tunnel collapsed on about 3 meters. At the same time, eight laborers are trapped inside. The remaining 42 workers managed to escape.
NDRF Deputy Commandant Sukhendu Dutta said that a distance of about 13.5 km has been covered inside the tunnel using locomotives and conveyor belts. The team went inside with the help of a train for 11 km. After this, the remaining 2 km distance was covered by a conveyor belt and walking. Two teams of NDRF, SDRF, Army, and Navy are involved in relief and rescue operations. A total of 300 employees are part of the campaign. The campaign is being carried out with the help of endoscopic and robotic cameras. NDRF has also deployed dog squads. L&T’s endoscopic operator said that with the help of cameras, what is happening inside the tunnel will be seen. These cameras were also used earlier in the Silkyara Tunnel accident in Uttarakhand.
In 1980, the then Telangana Chief Minister T Anjaiah dreamt of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel project. Later in 1990, it was decided to construct a tunnel to divert water from Srisailam reservoir and Nagarjuna dam to the drought-hit Nalgonda and Nagarkurnool districts, Initially, it was estimated that this tunnel would be ready in eight years. The government also arranged an advance of Rs.100 crore. But the tunnel work started for the first time in 2007, due to
the financial crisis, this tunnel is still hanging in the balance. The total length of the tunnel is 43.93 km.
Telangana ministers Uttam Kumar Reddy and Jupally Krishna Rao are supervising the rescue operations. The minister also went inside the tunnel with the help of a loco train. After coming out, Minister Jupally Krishna Rao said that the rescue teams could not hear any sound. The oxygen supply continues in the tunnel. More than 300 employees are engaged in the rescue operation. The army team is also deployed on the spot. A 2 km stretch of the tunnel is flooded.
