Lives in balance as Telangana tunnel rescue ops stutter

The hopes of saving the eight workers trapped in a collapsed and inundated Telangana tunnel dimmed on Monday as rescue personnel struggled to make headway even as rat hole miners were also pressed into action, with continuous water ingress and a deep slush hampering the operation, people aware of the matter said.

- Srinivasa Rao Apparasu

Nearly 600 personnel from the National Disaster Response Forces (NDRF), army, navy, Union ministry of road transport and highways, state-owned firm Singareni Collieries, and members of the team involved in the Silkyara rescue operations were working round-the-clock to reach the workers, who were trapped around the 14-km mark inside the 34km tunnel. As the operation entered its third day, NDRF deputy commandant Sukhendu Datta said the rescue team had covered 13.5km but added that they were finding it difficult to cover the last stretch.

"There is heavy stagnation of water and slush for about two kilometres before the collapse site. We could reach up to the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), which is heavily damaged, making further entry extremely difficult. There is massive water accumulation, scattered iron rods, and other debris are obstructing access to the trapped workers," Datta said.

Authorities have also brought rat hole miners on board to help rescue the trapped men. Two years ago, 12 rat hole miners burrowed through a wall of rock, mud, and debris with hand-held tools in the final breakthrough to help save 41 workers trapped in the Uttarakhand tunnel.