The crisis at the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district continued to deteriorate overnight as continued flooding of water and silt created a more challenging environment for rescue operations. Eight men are stuck inside the tunnel since Saturday morning and the situation is now more critical, as reported by rescue personnel on the scene.
They have been working hard to overcome this thick wall of slush inside the tunnel, which presents a major hurdle for rescue efforts. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Indian Navy, the Army, and other rescue forces have been carrying out efforts around the clock, but no solution has been found yet.
Prasanna Kumar, Commandant of NDRF’s 10th Battalion, revealed that after an extensive meeting with experts, none of them could suggest a viable way to breach the 11-foot-high wall of mud and debris. Navy commandos approached but were not prepared for this type of environment,” i.e. The slush has formed a quicksand-like pit which has significantly reduced the visibility. We have employed probe scopes and sonars and found them to show damaging debris (e.g., twisted metal, concrete slabs), etc. Anyone who enters could suffer serious injuries. A rat hole worker was brought in, but he cannot operate under these conditions because his expertise is limited to dry environments. At the moment, there is no way to penetrate this thick sludge in order to rescue victims. Additionally, we have not been able to establish any contact with the trapped workers, Kumar stated.
According to authorities, the disaster was attributed to natural rock formations breaking apart within the tunnel, which led to an instant, dramatic ingress of water and mud. The generated debris has now filled about 12-13 ft at distance in the tunnel, thus adding to the complexity of the rescue attempt. Telangana’s Irrigation Minister, Uttam Kumar Reddy acknowledged the enormous hardships the rescue team is coping with. It is an extremely challenging situation and technical specialists are busy day and night, trying to address it,” (p.074). The terrain is making it nearly impossible to bring in heavy machinery or equipment that could remove the slush at a faster pace, he explained.
According to officials, it is thought that it may take several days to clear the slush and clear out the potentially hazardous debris, such as tangled metal of the tunnel boring machine. Time is of the essence and the rescue crews are facing huge pressure, to come up with an alternative solution as soon as possible.
Fears for the safety and health of the trapped workers have grown rapidly with nearly 60 hours since a vent in the ceiling collapsed in the morning on Saturday, about 13.5 km into the tunnel. The rescued are engineers and construction workers from various states of India.
The eight men have been identified as Sunny Singh from Gurha Manhasan, Jammu and Kashmir, and Gurpreet Singh from Taran Taran, Punjab—both engineers working for the American tunneling firm The Robbins Company. Imprisoned, also, are Manoj Kumar and Sri Niwas, engineers, from Uttar Pradesh, with Jaiprakash Associates. The remaining four are construction workers of Jharkhand—Sandeep Sahu, Jagta Xess, Santosh Sahu and Anuj Sahu.
The situation is under constant observation by authorities both in the central and the state levels. Rescue teams are actively trying to remove the debris and to find alternative paths to reach the victims. Nevertheless, the continuous infiltration of water and mud is resulting in a tremendously slow pace of forward movement.
Attempts to dewater the tunnel and provide oxygen to the trapped people are also being made, but with no contact, their condition is still unknown. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has been personally monitoring the situation and is maintaining direct communication with the higher ups in charge of rescue operation.
The incident has evoked nationwide attention, with highest political officials actively monitoring the situation. Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi made contact with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to enquire about rescue operation and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also assured full support from the central government.
In the meantime, rescue experts have begun to think about other rescue plans, for instance as the drilling of a new section of the tunnel from above the existing damaged one, but the heterogeneous geological conditions and the unstable slope pose still very big challenges. The rescue operation is also complicated by the small, restricted tunnel space, which restricts manoeuvre and the use of big equipment.
With the time passing by, the rescue crews keep carrying on their tireless work to get to the trapped workers. Victims’ families are on the edge of their seat, waiting for tidings, praying for the miracle to save their family members. However, the authorities have not been inactive in the face of the adverse situation and have vowed to try their best to save the eight persons and liberate them back safely.
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