SLBC tunnel tragedy: Officials keep fingers crossed as rescue teams race against time

In last 36 hours, despite exhaustive efforts to reach the trapped workers and engineers, rescue teams have been unable to establish contact with any of the eight members lost deep within tunnel

Hyderabad: The ongoing operations to rescue the eight persons trapped inside the SLBC Tunnel project have taken a sombre turn with Minister Jupally Krishna Rao, after an on-ground assessment of the conditions inside the tunnel, revealed that the situation inside remained dire and far from optimistic.

The severity of the incident has left officials and rescue teams grappling with diminishing hope and growing despair. In the last 36 hours, despite exhaustive efforts to reach the trapped workers and engineers, rescue teams have been unable to establish contact with any of the eight members lost deep within the tunnel, approximately 400 metres beneath the hill range.

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Rescuers have called out the names of the missing workers using speakers, only to hear their own voices echoing back in the corridors. Senior officials on site have continued the rescue exercise with unwavering intensity, visiting the accident spot for stock-taking from time to time. However, the mood among the rescue teams that are yet to make significant headway towards the spot where the workers are trapped, is gloomy.

Minister Krishna Rao, accompanied by teams from the NDRF, SDRF, and the military, ventured up to a point that was believed to be hardly 100 metres away from the spot to assess the situation firsthand. Since 1 pm on Sunday, he has been overseeing the rescue efforts. He said the water pressure had severely impacted the tunnel boring machine, further complicating the operations. The distance from the tunnel entry to the accident site is approximately 13.5 km and the arduous travel involved to the spot has added to the complexity of the rescue mission.

The critical 200-metre last stretch of the tunnel remained filled with water and debris, making it inaccessible. The dewatering process taken up for draining the accident zone was expected to take time, and it is difficult to estimate how long it will take to complete the process and enable the rescue teams to gain entry.

Removal of debris that blocked the passage to the place was also taken up as the army teams joined the operations. The deployment of more specialised forces capable of navigating through the slush was asked for in the hope of reaching the survivors. Other options being considered include drilling from the top or sides of the tunnel to allow the rescue teams to enter. The Telangana-Andhra Sub Area of the Army is coordinating the rescue operations.