SLBC Tunnel Collapse: SCR deploys metal-cutting experts for rescue operation

Nagarkurnool district Collector sought the help of South Central Railway (SCR) to help in the rescue operation by clearing the debris of steel and iron, which has been hindering the rescue works at the site

Hyderabad: South Central Railway has deployed a team of metal-cutting experts along with requisite machinery to clear debris from the partially-collapsed Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel, where the operation to rescue eight trapped workers continued for a sixth day on Thursday.

Nagarkurnool district Collector sought the help of South Central Railway (SCR) to help in the rescue operation by clearing the debris of steel and iron, which has been hindering the rescue works at the site.

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Responding quickly, SCR deployed two teams of metal-cutting experts to help in the rescue mission. The first batch led by S. Murali, Divisional Mechanical Engineer, SCR along with one senior section engineer, 13 welders and two technicians from Secunderabad, Lallaguda and Rayanapadu workshops have reached the site and taken up the required works.

According to the SCR, the second batch of experts consisting of one senior section engineer along with four technicians will also be reaching the site to support the first team.

The staff has been deputed along with requisite machinery including one plasma cutting machine, one Brocho cutting machine and consumables, one portable air compressor, six plasma cutters, one ultra thermic cutting equipment, 20 packets-electrodes, one battery, six oxygen cylinders, two welding machine, four packets-welding electrodes, helmets and retro-reflective jackets, the SCR said.

SCR is at the forefront of the operations to clear the debris and accelerate the mission to rescue the workers and provide relief, it added. Army, Navy, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), rat miners and others are engaged in extensive operations to remove silt and debris from the tunnel.

The rescue workers were using plasma cutters to detach damaged parts of the tail portion of the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) to clear obstructions to the access end of the tunnel where the eight men were trapped.

The rescue workers were also engaged in the efforts to ensure that the loco train reached the last point and the conveyor belt became operational. Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, who is supervising the rescue operation, said plasma cutters, high-grade shutters, and debris removal machinery were being used while international experts were overseeing the strategy.