Rescue ops in final stage

Hyderabad: Hopes of rescuing the eight workers trapped inside the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel after a roof collapse on Saturday remain bleak. Despite ongoing efforts to stem the water flow, conditions inside the tunnel are dire, Minister Jupally Krishna Rao said late on Sunday.

The workers are believed to be stranded approximately 14 kilometers inside the tunnel. A rescue team has reached the location where a tunnel boring machine was operating at the time of the collapse. However, Nagarkurnool District Collector B Santhosh stated that silt buildup is severely hindering further progress toward trapped individuals.

The families of the missing workers are growing increasingly anxious as rescue teams have been unable to establish contact with the trapped persons. It remains unclear whether the workers have access to oxygen. Despite overcoming multiple obstacles, the rescue teams, who reached about 13.5 kilometers into the tunnel, used loudspeakers to connect with the workers and urged them to make noise with available equipment—yet no response was received.

Concerns are mounting as the supply of oxygen and power has remained cut off since the incident till Sunday morning.

Minister Krishna Rao noted that water gushed in rapidly after the collapse, causing even the boring machine to float amid heavy slush.

“Surviving without oxygen and drinking water in such extreme humidity is nearly impossible, though we continue to pray for their safety,” he said.

The families of the trapped workers have been informed of the situation and are being updated regularly at the SLBC tunnel site. Meanwhile, Governor Jishnudev Varma and Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy are closely monitoring the developments, while ministers N Uttam Kumar Reddy and Jupally Krishna Rao remain at the site overseeing the rescue operations.