Man trapped in Kerala sewage canal: rescue efforts reach 31st hour

Thiruvananthapuram: In the unfortunate incident of a sanitation worker swept away in a water current while cleaning a sewage canal in Kerala's capital, the rescue efforts have entered the 31st hour, and the person is yet to be found.

Rescue teams are facing extreme challenges near the Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station, where the canal becomes a tunnel beneath the station. The victim, Joy, is believed to be trapped inside the tunnel after a sudden current swept him inside. There is a huge accumulation of waste that is congesting the tunnel. The accumulated waste inside the tunnel is the prime challenge for rescue efforts.

The fire rescue team and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are at the site, and they have deployed two robots equipped with cameras to inspect the tunnel.

A recent update reported that something that the robot detected a little earlier has turned out to be not the victim's body. Scuba divers reached the spot where the detection was found, and it was confirmed negative.

It is learned that a 6-membered team of the Indian Navy was dispatched to the spot from Kochi, and water pumping equipment was brought to clear the sewage water.

Earlier, scuba divers made an attempt penetrate 30 metres into the tunnel but darkness and congestion due waste accumulation thwarted their efforts.

It was on Saturday, around 11 am when victim Joy got swept away by a water current. He is a temporary sanitation worker, and he was caught off guard while working on the Thampanoor section of the Amayizhanchan canal, which is the main drainage of the city. Heavy rain caused the sudden current, which caught Joy and three other workers off-guard. The other three were fortunate enough to escape.