Telangana Tunnel collapse: No breakthrough yet; hope fades for trapped workers
The final 150-200 meters remain a formidable barrier - completely blocked by debris, say the rescue team.
Rescue operations at the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district entered their fourth day with no breakthrough in sight, as eight workers remain trapped following a devastating collapse on Saturday morning. The incident, which occurred around 8:30 a.m. on February 22, has mobilised India’s top disaster response teams, but rising water levels, thick slush, and unstable debris have turned the mission into a race against time with diminishing prospects for survival.
The collapse took place 14 km inside the 44-km-long under-construction tunnel, part of a vital irrigation project to channel Krishna River water to Nalgonda district. A three-meter section of the tunnel’s roof caved in near Domalapenta village, trapping two engineers, two technical staff, and four laborers amid a pile of concrete, metal, and mud. Initial reports indicate the failure stemmed from a concrete segment slipping while workers attempted to seal a leak, a task resumed just four days prior after a prolonged hiatus.
Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has been closely monitoring the situation, directing officials to expedite efforts and coordinating with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who assured central assistance on Saturday. A unified command of nine elite agencies, including the Indian Army, Navy, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and experts from the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), is now on-site, battling unprecedented challenges.
Rescue teams have advanced 13.5 kilometers into the tunnel using locomotives and conveyor belts, but the final 150-200 meters remain a formidable barrier. “The last 200 meters is completely blocked by debris,” an NDRF official reported, noting that water seepage from surrounding hillocks has flooded the area, mixing with silt to create a quicksand-like wall of slush now 11-13 feet high. Efforts to dewater the tunnel, using high-capacity pumps, are underway, but an estimated 3,200 liters of water per minute continue to pour in, exacerbating the crisis.
“The natural rock formations became loose, causing sudden water and mud inflow,” Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy explained on Monday, calling the situation “highly challenging”. Heavy machinery is impractical due to the terrain, and drilling from above has been ruled out due to 400-meter-thick rock layers overhead, leaving rescuers reliant on manual methods and specialised tools.
A team of rat miners, famed for their role in the 2023 Uttarkashi tunnel rescue, arrived from Delhi on Monday to assist. “We can only assess the situation once inside,” said Firoz Qureshi, a rat miner, as his 12-member crew joined NDRF and SDRF teams. Endoscopic cameras, roboscopes, and sniffer dogs have been deployed, but as of 8:00 AM IST today, no visuals or signs of life have been detected. “Ventilation and lighting are adequate up to the last 50 meters, but beyond that, it’s a black box,” Nagarkurnool Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Gaikwad told reporters.
Hope is fading fast. Telangana Minister Jupally Krishna Rao, overseeing operations alongside Reddy, delivered a grim update on Monday: “The chances of survival are very, very remote. Muck has piled up too high. It’s impossible to walk through. Even with all efforts, it could take three to four days to clear the debris.” The trapped workers, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab, and Jammu & Kashmir, include a project engineer, a site engineer, and operators from a U.S.-based firm, adding an international dimension to the tragedy.
The incident has sparked political backlash. Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K.T. Rama Rao blamed the Congress-led State Government for alleged negligence, demanding a comprehensive inquiry into quality standards and supervision lapses. Meanwhile, families of the trapped workers, some traveling from Jharkhand under state support, wait anxiously.
For now, Telangana holds its breath, praying for a miracle as rescuers press on against overwhelming odds. Updates are expected as agencies refine their approach and new equipment, including a tunnel-boring machine, is deployed to breach the final stretch.
