By R. Rakendu
Eight people including two engineers, two machine operators and four workers were trapped in the Srisailam Left Bank Kanal in Telangana on 22 February, 2025. The roof of a section of the tunnel that is under construction collapsed leading to this tragic event in NagarKurnool district.
Later, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and rat-minors joined the rescue operations. This team made it to the end of the tunnel and returned. In the hope to find the missing workers, rescue dogs also entered the tunnel and assisted the team. The soil samples of the tunnel were collected by the Geological Survey of India, the results of the same will be shared soon.
The rescue operations are still going on as the team did not manage to establish any sort of contact with the trapped workers. Despite this fact, to ensure the missing people get enough oxygen, it is pumped into the tunnel frequently.
According to Uttam Kumar Reddy, Irrigation Minister of Telangana, having only one entry and exit in such a tunnel makes the rescue mission one of the most complex rescue missions not only in India but the world.
By 28 February, 2025, more than five hundred people became a part of the rescue team. From the Indian Army and Navy to Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), each person and team is focused on rescuing the trapped workers. But the rescue team is still unable to connect with the missing people.
The missing workers are Sri Nivas and Manoj Kumar from Uttar Pradesh, Gurpreet Singh from Punjab, Sunny Singh from Jammu and Kashmir, and the labourers Jegta Xess, Anuj Sahu, Sandeep Sahu and Santosh Sahu from Jharkhand. The district collector stated not to propagate the false news of finding dead bodies in tunnel and said to the media that if there is any such news, then the media will be informed.