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The chances of survival of the eight persons who remain trapped in the SLBC tunnel after a partial collapse two days ago are "very remote," though every effort is being made to reach them, Telangana Minister Jupally Krishna Rao said on Monday.
He also mentioned that a team of rat miners, who had rescued the construction workers trapped in the Silkyara Bend-Barkot tunnel in Uttarakhand in 2023, has joined the rescue teams to extricate the men.
The Minister stated that rescuing the trapped individuals would take at least three to four days, as the accident site is filled with muck and debris, making it a daunting task for the rescuers.
"To be honest, the chances of their survival are very, very, very, very remote. Because, I myself went up to the end, almost just 50 meters short (of the mishap site). When we took photographs, the end (of the tunnel) was visible. And out of the 9 meter diameter (of the tunnel)--almost 30 feet, out of that 30 feet, mud has piled up up to 25 feet", he said.
"When we shouted their names also, there was no response...so, there is no chance at all," he said.
The persons who have been trapped in the collapsed tunnel for the past over 48 hours have been identified as Manoj Kumar and Sri Niwas from Uttar Pradesh, Sunny Singh (Jammu and Kashmir), Gurpreet Singh (Punjab) and Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, Santosh Sahu and Anuj Sahu, all from Jharkhand.
Of the eight, two are engineers, two operators and four labourers.
Krishna Rao said the process of clearing the debris is underway with several machinery in place.
According to him, the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) which weighs a few hundred tons, got almost flushed away by about 200 meters after the collapse and due to the gushing water.
"Even, even assuming they (the trapped persons) are in the lower part of the TBM machine, assuming even if it is intact on the top, where is the air (oxygen)? Underneath, how the oxygen will go," he asked though pumping of oxygen and dewatering have been continuously done.
"For removing all the debris and all that, in spite of all types of efforts, all types of organizations (working), it takes, I think it takes not less than 3-4 days (to extricate the people)," Rao, who had overseen the rescue operations along with Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy, said.
Rao said the conveyor belt was being restored at the tunnel to clear the debris.
Meanwhile, a social media post from Telangana Chief Minister's Office said CM Revanth Reddy has been continuously reviewing the situation regarding the SLBC tunnel accident and was in constant touch with the ministers and senior officials involved in the rescue operations.
Reddy has instructed the officials to leave no stone unturned in the efforts to save the trapped persons, even as the Indian Army and the Navy have joined the rescue operations along with NDRF, SDRF and other agencies, the CMO said in a social media post late on Sunday.
The officials explained to the CM that water entering the tunnel has become an impediment to the ongoing rescue operations. Dewatering is going on while oxygen was being continuously pumped into the tunnel.
The officials also informed that they are exploring alternative routes to reach the site of the accident by clearing the debris of soil mounds in the tunnel, the post said.
Despite relentless efforts by the Indian Army, NDRF, and other agencies, no breakthrough has been achieved so far in the rescue operations to extricate the eight persons who have remained trapped for over 48 hours inside the tunnel after a section of it collapsed in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal project in Telangana's Nagarkurnool district on Saturday.