72 hours of a mishap that trapped eight workers in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Telangana, but there is no major breakthrough or the slightest of a trace yet. A portion of the tunnel collapse on Saturday morning, it is Tuesday now but there is no sight of the trapped workers anywhere.

The rescue operations are ongoing with teams of SDRF and the Indian Army engaged in strenuous efforts to save the workers. They are also joined by experts from Geological Survey of India and National Geographical Research Institute.

The latest information is shared by District collector of Nagarkunool, B Santosh who revealed that there is no contact with the workers yet and the rescue teams have not crossed the last 40-50 m block. He said to PTI, “As of now, we are not able to communicate with them. We are taking the advice of the Geological Survey of India and some other people. As of now, we are dewatering and going forward. But for the last 40 or 50 m we are not able to go. NGRI and L&T experts are also here, we will move ahead as per their advice.”

Notably, the team of rat miners who had successfully rescued the trapped workers in Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand, 2023 have also joined the rescue team for the operations on Monday. Advanced equipment like endoscopic and robotic cameras have also been brought to assist the rescuers. Certain visuals from the tunnel site show a huge pile of debris blocking the way to reach the trapped workers, that is only being navigated through. Rescue teams are trying to declutter the tunnel from all the excess water and mud accumulated inside, and are pumping oxygen to aid in the survival of the workers.

Among those trapped inside the SLBC tunnel are Manoj Kumar and Sriniwas from Uttar Pradesh, Sunny Singh (J&K), Gurpreet Singh (Punjab) and Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, Santosh Sahu, and Anuj Sahu all hailing from Jharkhand. Out of which, two of them are engineers, two operators and the other four labourers. The family members of the four workers from Jharkhand have reached there already.

Because of no update or any sort of contact, it is said the chances of survival of the trapped workers remains grim. Telangana Minister J. Krishna Rao told, “To be honest, the chances of their survival are very, very, very, very remote. Because I went to the end, almost just 50m short. When we took photographs, the end was visible. And of the 9m diameter, almost 30 feet, out of that 30 feet, mud has piled up to 25 feet…When we shouted their names also, there was no response…so, there is no chance at all.”   

The Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana, Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka will visit the tunnel collapse site today.