Telangana: SLBC tunnel rescue operations hit a stalemate

In a fresh attempt to assess the progress of the rescue operations, SLBC Tunnel Special Officer Siva Shankar Lotheti reviewed the situation at the tunnel office on Tuesday

Hyderabad: Despite rigorous rescue operations and coordinated efforts, six of the eight workers who were still missing after the accident at the SLBC tunnel, remain untraced.

Cadaver dogs were deployed again to identify potential locations of human remains, but their findings did not yield any results, leaving rescue teams at a standstill.

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In a fresh attempt to assess the progress of the rescue operations, SLBC Tunnel Special Officer Siva Shankar Lotheti reviewed the situation at the tunnel office on Tuesday.

During the meeting, top officials from various rescue teams provided updates on their activities and the ongoing challenges inside the tunnel. Lotheti described the exhaustive measures being undertaken to clear steel and iron debris hampering rescue efforts.

He detailed the complex process of dismantling the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) to advance soil excavation efforts. The removal of water from inside the tunnel was also underway to address one of the major obstacles to rescue operations, he said, highlighting the coordinated teamwork between central and State agencies, which has expedited the restoration of conveyor belt systems crucial to the operation.

Nagarkurnool District Additional Collector Dev Sahayam, Army representatives Vikas Singh and Vijay Kumar, Singareni Officer Madhava Rao, NDRF officials Manmohan Yadav and Satyanarayana, SDRF Officer Giridhar Reddy and HYDRAA officer Jayaprakash were present.