Telangana tunnel accident: Rescue op in final stage; govt re
Telangana tunnel accident: Rescue op in final stage; govt refutes reports of bodies being found
The rescue teams of Army, Navy, NDRF, SDRF, Singareni Mines Rescue, Fire Services, National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), HYDRAA, South Central Railway plasma cutters, and Rat Miners were focussing on five locations identified by NGRI after scanning the accident site through Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR).
HYDERABAD — The
operation to rescue eight trapped persons in a partially collapsed tunnel in
Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district entered the final stage on Saturday, a week
after the tragedy, with the government refuting reports of bodies being found.
Ambulances were kept ready near the Srisailam Left Bank
Canal (SLBC) tunnel amid intensified desilting and machine-cutting operations
by multiple rescue teams.
The rescue teams of Army, Navy, NDRF, SDRF, Singareni Mines
Rescue, Fire Services, National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), HYDRAA,
South Central Railway plasma cutters, and Rat Miners were focussing on five
locations identified by NGRI after scanning the accident site through Ground
Penetrating Radar (GPR).
The NGRI experts traced some soft material under the debris
in the last 10-15 metres of the tunnel but were not sure whether it was the
people trapped inside. Five to seven-metre-high silt deposits have to be
cleared at these five locations.
The rescue workers were also busy repairing the conveyor
belt. Once this becomes functional, the pace of rescue operations is expected
to gather further speed.
Officials said continuous water seepage remained the biggest
impediment in the rescue efforts.
Nagarkurnool District Collector Badavath Santosh on Friday
night denied that rescue workers found bodies. He urged the media not to
broadcast any such news without confirmation as it creates panic.
“NGRI has identified certain points but we can’t say it is
100 per cent correct. It can be metal or it can be something else. We are
moving forward as per their finding,” the Collector said.
To speed up the rescue efforts, the authorities are
implementing a well-structured plan, utilising advanced technology. The water
inside the accident site is being pumped out, and debris is being cleared using
plasma gas cutters, officials said.
The necessary rescue equipment is being kept ready to ensure
swift operations. The conveyor belt will be brought into use as soon as
possible, and excavators have been prepared to remove the sludge, they said.
Special cameras and sensors are being used to continuously
monitor the internal conditions of the tunnel.
Two workers were injured and eight others trapped when a
portion of the tunnel roof collapsed on February 22 at the 14th km point.
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
remaining four are labourers.
They were employed by Jaiprakash Associates, the contracting
firm for the tunnel project
