Rescuers recovered the body of one of the seven people, who remained trapped inside the partially collapsed SLBC project tunnel here for over a month, on Tuesday, officials said.
This brings the total number of bodies found so far to two.
Nagarkurnool district collector Badavath Santhosh told reporters that the body was located during the search operation on Tuesday.
The deceased has been identified as Manoj Kumar from Uttar Pradesh, who worked as an engineer with the contract firm of the tunnel project, an official statement said.
The body was shifted to a government hospital for post mortem and other procedures as per the norms.
The mortal remains of the deceased would be sent to his native place in Unnao district of UP as per norms, the statement said.
As per the instructions of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh would be handed over to the family of the deceased, the district collector said.
The CM has ordered that the search operation continue till all those trapped are located, he said.
He also said four excavators have been deployed inside the tunnel to expedite the search operation.
Meanwhile, an official told media that the body was extricated after the search personnel experienced foul smell early today after which it was taken out carefully.
The body was recovered from a location other than those suggested by the sniffer dogs deployed earlier in the search operation, he said.
A total of eight individuals—including engineers and labourers—were trapped in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project tunnel when a portion of it collapsed on February 22.
The trapped persons have been identified as Manoj Kumar (UP), Sri Niwas (UP), Sunny Singh (J&K), Gurpreet Singh (Punjab) and Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, Santosh Sahu and Anuj Sahu, all from Jharkhand.
The body of Gurpreet Singh, a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) operator, was recovered on March 9 and handed over to his family in Punjab.
As many as 700 personnel belonging to 25 state, central and private agencies are engaged in the operation to locate those trapped, in the tunnel.
During an official meeting on Monday, officials told Chief Minister Revanth Reddy that the search operation has become more complex due to the location of the accident, which occurred 14 kms deep inside the tunnel, where ventilation and light are poor.
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