“A 20-member team comprising NDRF, SDRF and Rat Miners were able to reach the last points of the (tunnel). But there was a lot of debris. They are working out how to go about,” Nagarkurnool Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Gaikwad was quoted as saying by PTI. He further mentioned that the team searched at the location but could not find anything last night.
Read more: Telangana tunnel collapse day 4: Experts from GSI, NGRI brought in to assist rescue operations
According to District Collector B. Santhosh, they are now planning to use sniffer dogs to locate them as sludge started solidifying inside the tunnel. He further noted that the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) was expected to provide information on soil stabilisation and other structural issues on that basis authorities will create an updated rescue action plan.
“Initially there was a hurdle of 40 meters (from the accident spot). The sludge was there. But that has solidified now to the maximum extent. So the team could go up to the accident spot… So we have a sniffer dog. We will take it. So with the dog’s help, we will try to locate (the trapped),” he told PTI.
The multi-agency team involved in the rescue operation earlier concluded that any attempt to cross the last 50-metre barrier completely filled with mud and debris from the tunnel boring machine (TBM) would endanger the lives of the rescue teams, The Hindu reported.
Read more: Telangana tunnel collapse: High tech cameras brought in to expedite rescue work
Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy visited the accident site to assess the ongoing rescue operation. Additionally, Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy on Wednesday also visited the site and held a meeting with rescue teams. He criticised the opposition, saying, “First, we want to say that the 44-km SLBC tunnel will be a boon to the people and farmers of Telangana. Do they (opposition) want everything to be politics? It is shameful.”
Jaiprakash Gaur, Founder Chairman of Jaypee Group, the contracting firm of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal project, said accidents may happen during difficult works. “In these difficult works, such things happen. In my life, I think there might be six or seven accidents, the Tehri (project), in Bhutan, in J&K, everywhere. You have to encounter all this,” he added.
The horrific incident occurred on Saturday, February 22, when a portion of the tunnel collapsed and trapped eight workers inside it. The eight workers trapped in the tunnel are Manoj Kumar and Sri Niwas from Uttar Pradesh, Sunny Singh (Jammu and Kashmir), Gurpreet Singh (Punjab) and Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, Santosh Sahu, and Anuj Sahu, all from Jharkhand.
Read more: Telangana tunnel collapse: 8 feared trapped, rescue ops underway
The rescue efforts involve experts from 11 agencies, including the Indian Army, the Navy’s Marine Commando Force (MARCOS), the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the Geological Survey of India (GSI), rat miners and Singareni Collieries Company Limited.
