Hyderabad: Telangana Minister for Tourism and Culture Jupally Krishna Rao on Monday stated that the chances of survival for the eight individuals trapped in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal tunnel collapse were “very, very, very, very remote.” The tunnel in Nagarkurnool district partially collapsed two days ago, severely hindering rescue efforts.
A team of rat-hole miners, who had successfully rescued trapped workers in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara Bend-Barkot tunnel in 2023, has now joined the ongoing operation. However, the minister warned that it could take at least three to four days to reach the trapped individuals due to the sheer amount of muck and debris.
“To be honest, the chances of their survival are very, very, very, very remote,” Rao told PTI. “I myself went up to the end, almost just 50 meters short of the accident site. When we took photographs, the end of the tunnel was visible. Out of the 9-meter diameter—almost 30 feet—mud has piled up to 25 feet.”
Heavy machinery is being used to clear the debris from the collapsed three-metre stretch of the tunnel, which caved in on Saturday, injuring about a dozen workers. Over 50 people were at the site, working with a tunnel-boring machine (TBM) when the accident occurred.
The eight trapped individuals have been identified as Manoj Kumar and Sri Niwas from Uttar Pradesh, Sunny Singh from Jammu and Kashmir, Gurpreet Singh from Punjab, and Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, Santosh Sahu, and Anuj Sahu from Jharkhand. Among them, two are engineers, two are operators, and four are labourers.
Rao also revealed that the TBM, weighing several hundred tons, was nearly swept away by gushing water and had moved approximately 200 meters after the collapse. “Even assuming they [the workers] are in the lower part of the TBM machine, and assuming it is intact on the top, where is the air? Underneath, how will the oxygen reach them?” he questioned.
Rescue teams have pumped air into the tunnel and have begun dewatering efforts. Despite the involvement of the Indian Army, the National Disaster Response Force, and multiple agencies, no breakthrough has been achieved so far.
Rao added that a conveyor belt inside the tunnel was being repaired to assist in debris removal, but given the extensive damage, the operation is expected to take at least three to four more days.