The rescue work is underway to save eight people trapped for over five days in a collapsed SLBC tunnel in Nagarkurnool district in Telangana.
The rescuers have now started cutting parts of the tunnel boring machine and other obstacles hindering their access to the area where the victims are believed to be stuck, news agency PTI reported.
Nagarkurnool SP Vaibhav Gaikwad said the damaged part of the conveyor belt in the tunnel is expected to be repaired during the day to facilitate the transportation of debris.
"Yes, it's already (gas cutting machines went inside). (even during) Nights they did some cutting. Yes, it has already started last night," an official told PTI in response to a question of whether the gas cutters have started working.
Telangana Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said the rescue and relief work is in full swing, and the operation would be complete in two days.
"I can assure you two things. In two days, the rescue and relief operation will be complete and in about two or three months, we will restart the (SLBC project) work and complete this project in record time. It is a natural accident. The debris and the machine will be removed. Whether it is one day, two days or two and half days, the work is in full swing,” he added.
He further said national and international agencies and experts in tunnels are working in a coordinated and unified manner. On Wednesday, the official had said the TBM that is stuck inside will be cut into pieces using gas cutters and removed.
After this, the Army, Navy, Rat Miners and NDRF teams will make another serious effort to rescue the eight persons who are missing, without compromising their own safety.
Workers Engaged In Tunnel Project Leaving En Masse?
Some of the workers engaged in the tunnel work started leaving the place out of fear, PTI quoted sources as saying.
A senior government official said 800 people are working on the Srisailam Left Bank Canal project, out of which 300 are locals, while the rest are from states like Jharkhand, Odisha and UP.
Responding to reports that labourers panicked following the accident and are planning to leave, the official said there will be apprehension among the workers.
“The company constructed residential camps also for the workers. The initial panic will be there. Maybe some individuals want to go back. But we have no reports of workers leaving en masse,” the official said.
Eight personnel working on the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel project were trapped after a portion of the tunnel collapsed on 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 Sahau, all from Jharkhand.
Of the eight, two are engineers, two are operators and the remaining four are labourers from Jharkhand. The two engineers and four labourers are working for Jaiprakash Associates, the contracting firm of SLBC tunnel project.