A 20-member rescue team comprising rat miners and NDRF and SDRF personnel was, though able to reach the last point of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel last night, returned empty handed unable to locate anyone among the eight trapped workers.
However, with the sludge solidifying the rescuers are hopeful of using sniffer dogs to locate the men who might be trapped under the debris of the broken-off part of the Tunnel Boring Machine .
Advertisement
It was the rat miners with simple tools without much safety gear who were able to reach the last critical 50 metres of the 14 km long SLBC tunnel in search of the eight men on the night of day four. They found the area filled with the debris of the machine and the concrete slabs and silt.
Videos taken by the rat miners showed the challenges they faced, particularly due to reduced oxygen levels inside the tunnel. Munna Qureshi, one of the rat miners, pointed out that this was far more challenging than the Uttarakhand tunnel where the team had rescued more than 41 people trapped inside.
He said the situation was very critical at the accident spot as the tunnel was very unstable. “We cannot take a risk with the lives of the rescuers. Right now, the debris is holding up but once we start removing it to look for the men, it can be very critical and everything can come down. So, we are going to find the men and bring them out but we first need to seal the roof and stabilize the structure. There will be three to four teams working in tandem. We will start once the collector sir gives us the go-ahead,” said Qureshi.
He said water was still steadily seeping in the tunnel in spite of the continuous dewatering.
The unified command overseeing the rescue work also saw Border Roads Organisation joining in to suggest ways to stabilise the tunnel. The Geological Survey of India has collected soil samples from the tunnel. The state government is keen to complete the tunnelling work despite the setback. Only 9 km of the 44 km long tunnel remains to be completed.
