Telangana tunnel collapse: In a grim comment on the possibility of survivors in the SLBC project tunnel collapse, Telangana minister J Krishna Rao said on Monday that rescue workers shouted the names of eight trapped workers but didn’t get a response. The minister further said their survival chances are “very, very, very, very remote”.
The minister said mud had piled up in the collapsed portion of the under-construction tunnel.
“To be honest, the chances of their survival are very, very, very, very remote. Because, I went up to the end, almost just 50 meters short (of the mishap site). When we took photographs, the end (of the tunnel) was visible. And out of the 9-meter diameter (of the tunnel), almost 30 feet, out of that 30 feet, mud has piled up to 25 feet,” he told PTI.
“When we shouted their names also, there was no response…so, there is no chance at all,” he added.
The minister said that a team of rat miners, who rescued the construction workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand in 2023, has joined rescue efforts.
He said it would take the rescue workers three to four days to reach the trapped workers because muck and debris are impeding their progress.
Krishna Rao said the process of clearing the debris is underway.
The authorities are pumping in oxygen inside the tunnel. They are also trying to dewater it.
“Even, even assuming they (the trapped persons) are in the lower part of the TBM machine, assuming even if it is intact on the top, where is the air (oxygen)? Underneath, how the oxygen will go,” he asked.
The officials also informed that they are exploring alternative routes to reach the site of the accident by clearing the debris of soil mounds in the tunnel.
The Indian Army, NDRF and other agencies have been pressed into the rescue operation since Saturday. However, no breakthrough could be achieved as of now.
Those who have been trapped inside the tunnel for over two days have been identified as Manoj Kumar and Sri Niwas from Uttar Pradesh, Sunny Singh (Jammu and Kashmir), Gurpreet Singh (Punjab) and Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, Santosh Sahu, Anuj Sahu from Jharkhand.