Wall Of Mud, Low Visibility: Why Telangana Tunnel Rescue Is Becoming An Uphill Task

Last Updated:February 25, 2025, 07:05 IST

Eight workers have been trapped since Saturday after a portion of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal tunnel in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district collapsed.

The rescue operation to evacuate eight workers, who were trapped inside the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district after a portion of it collapsed on Saturday morning, entered its fourth day on Tuesday.

The collapse took place during excavation work using a tunnel boring machine (TBM), trapping the workers for three days and counting.

No contact has been established so far with the trapped workers, who hail from Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand.

The Indian Army, NDRF, SDRF, Singareni Collieries, and NHIDCL personnel are on the job. Six members of the team behind the heroic November 2023 Silkyara tunnel rescue operation in Uttarakhand also joined in to assist the operation. However, no breakthrough has been achieved so far.

Why Is Telangana Rescue Operation Taking So Long?

According to the rescuers, the situation inside the tunnel changed drastically overnight with a heavy seepage of water and mud.

Prasanna Kumar, NDRF’s 10th Battalion Commandant, told The Indian Express on Monday that a lengthy meeting took place among the officials of the Indian Army, Navy, and other agencies over the rescue operation, however, none of the experts on-site could devise a way to navigate through the dense wall of slush to reach the trapped individuals.

The official said that the Navy commandos attempted to make a cut, however, they were not equipped for “this kind of wall of mud” which has risen in height to nearly 11 feet, making the visibility reduced to zero, The Indian Express reported.

According to an official in the irrigation department, there was hardly 5 to 10 metres of space left where the workers are believed to be trapped, Times of India reported.

What Are Rescuers Doing To Evacuate Workers?

According to the official, the authorities have deployed probe scopes and sonars which have ascertained the presence of dangerous debris like tweaked metal, concrete chucks, and other materials.

Kumar said the danger is such that anyone who attempts to enter it will be seriously injured. He informed that a rat hole worker was called, however, he could not be of much help as he can only work in dry conditions and the presence of a thick wall of mud-water mix has made things far more difficult.

“Right now we do not have any technology to help us make our way through this wall of slush to reach the victims,” Kumar told the daily.

The officials said that the natural rock formations in the tunnel have loosened which caused a sudden inflow of water and mud that has filled around 12-13 feet of the tunnel.

How Long Until Workers Are Rescued?

Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy has said that the terrain has made it difficult to bring in heavy equipment to help remove the slush in a more efficient and faster manner.

According to the officials, the removal of slush and dangerous debris of metal pieces using tunnel boring machines may take several days.

A rat miner who was a part of the successful rescue operation during the Uttarakhand tunnel collapse said that his team would enter the tunnel with the NDRF and SDRF teams and assess the situation.

Among those trapped inside are Sunny Singh from Gurha Manhasan, Jammu & Kashmir, and Gurpreet Singh from Taran Taran, Punjab — both engineers with the American tunneling firm The Robbins Company. Also trapped are Manoj Kumar and Sri Niwas from Uttar Pradesh, engineers with Jaiprakash Associates, along with construction workers Sandeep Sahu, Jagta Xess, Santosh Sahu, and Anuj Sahu from Jharkhand.

Location :

Telangana, India, India