A team from the Indian Navy will join the operations to rescue eight workers who are trapped in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal tunnel in Domalapenta in Nagarkurnool district of Telangana on the third day of rescue operations today.
“The mishap was of very serious nature and we are taking all measures to rescue the workers from the tunnel,” Telangana Minister Jupally Krishna Rao told newspersons after visiting the accident site. “The boring machine crashed in the tunnel following the collapse of a part of the roof and there is no way to take heavy machinery inside the tunnel,’‘ he added.
“Efforts were on to to install a heavy motor to pump out the water from the tunnel,” the Minister added.
The Indian Naval Team from Visakhapatnam will work along with the about 350-strong personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the Indian Army, Singareni Collieries, Police and Fire services who have been on the rescue mission since Saturday.
The rescue team members could reach only 13.5 km in the tunnel till Sunday night and could not proceed further due to water and mud. The mishap took place at the 14-km point in the 44 km long tunnel.
Out of 50 workers present in the tunnel at the time of the mishap, 42, including 13 who sustained injuries, rushed out while eight were trapped.