No light at the end of the tunnel? Telangana Minister hints at low chances of survival for workers trapped in SLBC tunnel

Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao says location of all eight workers identified using sophisticated machinery; efforts on to bring out four of the trapped individuals by Sunday evening, but it may take an additional two days to reach out to the remaining four

Hyderabad: The week-long rescue operations at the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel are nearing an end, but with hopes of safely rescuing the eight missing workers and engineers nearly shattered. The mission, involving over a dozen national and state agencies, is set to conclude on a grim note.

Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao on Saturday hinted that the chances of survival for the eight missing workers and engineers were very low. It is unlikely by 99 per cent that they are alive. However, he did not rule out the scope for the rescue mission springing surprises giving a positive outcome in the mission.

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He announced on Saturday that the location of all eight persons trapped in the SLBC tunnel had been identified using sophisticated machinery. Efforts were underway to bring out four of the trapped individuals by Sunday evening, but it may take an additional two days to reach out to the remaining four, he said.

Earlier in the day, the presence of ambulances outside the Nagarkurnool Government Hospital led to reports, and many believing, that there were no survivors from the tunnel collapse accident and that the bodies had been found. If they were retrieved from the silt and debris accumulated in the tunnel, it is likely that they would be shifted to Nagarkurnool District Hospital.

The entire operations focused during the day on analysing anomalies detected by the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) team, employing Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) within the tunnel debris. It raised concerns about the fate of those reported missing after the accident that occurred on February 22.

The South Central Railway (SCR) deployed plasma cutters and Broco cutting machines, speeding up the operations, especially the removal of the mangled remains of the tunnel boring machine (TBM). The dismantled parts of the TBM were being shifted outside the tunnel to make clear passage for the rescue teams and machines to lift the debris.

The Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) rescue teams, also part of the mission, have been engaged in cutting parts of the TBM from the other end. Some 70 personnel from the SCCL are on the job. They have also joined the effort to restore the conveyor, which is the sole system helping in shifting the rubble and debris being lifted from the tunnel. The conveyor is expected to be made fully operational to night.

The volume of seepage at the cave-in site that was relatively less two days ago raised in volume as the debris lifting operations gained momentum on Saturday. The water is being drained using heavy pumping machines. The atmosphere is gloomy as authorities await further confirmation of the situation.

Chief Secretary A Shanti Kumari and her team of officials reached the tunnel on a stock taking exercise. The government had refuted reports that bodies of the missing workers were retrieved from the debris and that was the reason why eight ambulance vehicles were kept stand by. Nearly 600 personnel from 12 different departments have been taking up rescue operations.