The rescue operation to save eight workers trapped inside the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Nagarkurnool has been ongoing at full capacity, with around 12 agencies working around the clock to locate the victims, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Commandant VVN Prasanna Kumar said on Monday.
“Actually, the operation is going on in full swing. Approximately 12 agencies are working around the clock to find the victims. Unfortunately, we have not been able to locate them so far,” Kumar stated.
He added that both the Telangana and Central governments had deployed top experts from across the country to assist in the complex tunnel operation.
“Due to the complexity of the tunnel operation, we could not achieve success so far. However, maximum manpower is engaged in a planned manner, and hopefully, we will get success in a short time,” he said.
According to Kumar, approximately 300 personnel, including 100 NDRF members, along with State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Indian Army, and Singareni teams, are actively involved in the rescue efforts.
“The main hurdle for us is the TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine), which is a 1,500-ton machine that got damaged inside the tunnel, causing a major problem for us,” he said.
On Sunday, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy visited the SLBC tunnel site to assess the ongoing rescue operation. The rescue efforts, now in their ninth day, continue as teams attempt to reach the workers who have been stranded since the tunnel collapse on 22 February.
Earlier on Saturday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs visited the SLBC tunnel accident site in Nagarkurnool to assess the situation.
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