Telangana tunnel collapse: Robots to be deployed for rescue operations

The rescue operation has entered the 15th day to evacuate the trapped persons from the partially collapsed SLBC tunnel.

Telangana's irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday directed the officials to take immediate steps to deploy robots for the rescue work inside the partially collapsed SLBC tunnel, where eight people, including engineers and labourers have been trapped since February 22. According to a PTI report, Reddy visited the tunnel site and reviewed the ongoing rescue operation with the officials of different organisations. He said that the Telangana government would spend ₹4 crore to undertake the rescue work by utilising the services of robot experts of a Hyderabad-based private company.

Rescue operation underway to trace workers trapped inside the partially collapsed Telangana's Srisailam Left Bank Canal tunnel, in Nagarkurnool, Telangana.(PTI)

“As the fragments of the huge TBM got submerged under water, soil and stones inside the tunnel, they caused a hazard to the rescue team,” an official release quoted the minister as saying.

‘Tunnel collapse a national disaster’: Telangana minister

Describing the tunnel collapse as a “national disaster”, Reddy said,"The government is determined to continue the rescue operation though the conditions inside the tunnel, including low levels of oxygen, high seepage of water and the sturdy parts of TBM that got drowned in water and soil, posed challenges to the operation."

The rescue operation has entered the 15th day to evacuate the trapped persons. The Kerala Police deployed cadaver dogs who identified two possible spots.

The rescue personnel have been removing the silt at the locations identified by the dogs, PTI reported.