“We Are Doing Everything to Rescue the People Trapped in Tunnel”: Uttam

Nagarkurnool/Hyderabad, Feb 22 (Maxim News): A serious accident occurred at the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel on Saturday morning, where a section of the tunnel roof collapsed by three meters at the 14th-kilometer mark on the left side.

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Ministers Uttam Kumar Reddy and Jupally Krishna Rao visited the site to assess the situation and later addressed the media alongside officials overseeing the rescue operations.

According to Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy, the workers had entered the tunnel at 8:00 AM, and the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) was activated around 8:30 AM. Shortly after, water began leaking from one side of the tunnel, causing the surrounding soil to weaken and collapse with a loud noise. Fortunately, the TBM operator sensed the danger early and immediately raised an alarm.

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Thanks to the quick response, 42 workers were successfully evacuated from the tunnel. However, eight workers positioned near the boring machine remain trapped inside.

“The government is taking every possible measure to save those trapped,” assured Reddy. “We are in contact with experts who previously handled similar tunnel rescue operations in Uttarakhand.”

The trapped individuals include workers from Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, as well as a project engineer, a field engineer, and two TBM operators from Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab.

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Officials confirmed that the trapped workers currently do not face any ventilation issues. However, due to their location deep within the tunnel—14 kilometers in—the rescue operation poses a significant challenge.

Minister Reddy stated that specialized rescue teams are en route and are expected to arrive at the scene by tonight to intensify efforts to bring the workers to safety. (Maxim News)

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