SLBC tunnel collapse: Rescue team retrieves body from debris

Efforts are underway to establish the identity of the body.

Hyderabad: After a 16-day rescue operation, teams retrieved the body of a worker trapped in the SLBC (Srisailam Left Bank Canal) tunnel after a roof collapse. The remains were found before the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) on Sunday, March 9.

Rescuers first discovered a right hand near the TBM, confirming the body was buried under debris. Efforts are underway to establish the identity of the body.

According to reports, rescue teams suspect that the bodies of three other missing individuals may be buried under debris within a one-to-four-foot radius of the first body’s location. Cadaver dogs from Kerala were deployed in the D2 area of the tunnel to aid in the search.

An ambulance is stationed at the SLBC tunnel entrance, ready to transport the body once fully excavated.

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Cadaver dogs to be deployed in SLBC tunnel in Telangana

Earlier, the Telangana government decided to deploy robots for the rescue operation from March 11 to ensure the safety of rescue personnel, as the challenging conditions inside the collapsed SLBC tunnel, including water and slush, pose significant risks.

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has submitted an initial report in which, among other things, it has cautioned that rescue operations should be carried out with extreme caution and care in the last 70 metres (at the accident site).

About SLBC tunnel collapse

On February 22, a portion of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Nagarkurnool collapsed, locking eight workers, including two engineers, inside the debris and slush.

Eight persons–engineers and labourers have been trapped under the collapsed roof of the SLBC tunnel since February 22. The trapped persons have been identified as Manoj Kumar (UP), Sri Niwas (UP), Sunny Singh (J&K), Gurpreet Singh (Punjab) and Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, Santosh Sahu and Anuj Sahu, all from Jharkhand.

The previous day, Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy and the state irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy expressed hope that the damaged conveyor belt would be repaired by Monday. He inspected the rescue operations at the SLBC tunnel roof collapse area and said, “Officials say it will take another two to three days to resolve the issue. They have not yet come to a complete assessment of where the eight trapped workers are and where the conveyor belt was damaged.”

Terming the accident as unfortunate and unexpected, CM Revanth appealed to the opposition parties not to politicise the issue and unite to work together. “This is a disaster. The state government is determined to solve this problem. However, be it the government or the opposition… this is the time to show empathy to the affected families and support them,” he said.