Rescue personnel, during the early hours of Tuesday, spotted the second body of a worker trapped inside the partially collapsed Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel 32 days after the tragic incident in Nagarkurnool, Telangana. Efforts are on to retrieve the mortal remains from inside the tunnel.
Nagarkurnool, Telangana | SLBC Tunnel operation | Rescue teams have found another body inside the SLBC tunnel, in the early morning hours today. The body is stuck, and the teams are currently working to retrieve it: Rescue teams
— ANI (@ANI) March 25, 2025
According to authorities, rescue teams spotted the body of a worker during the early hours of Tuesday and it was found stuck at the accident spot inside the tunnel. “Rescue teams are currently working on retrieving it,” a senior official told ANI. Rescuers have achieved this breakthrough after over a month of round-the-clock rescue operations inside the tunnel. A section of the roof of the under-construction tunnel collapsed on February 22, trapping eight workers including four labourers, two engineers and two Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) operators.
On Monday, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy reviewed the rescue operations and advised the authorities to expedite them. Authorities said work is underway to remove soil, stones, debris and parts of the TBM that were damaged during the collapse. Dewatering is also being carried out, authorities said.
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According to officials, 30 metres at the site has been identified as dangerous. The chief minister advised authorities to take expert advice over continuing the operation and appointing senior officials to oversee the operations. Over 700 personnel from 25 agencies are involved in the rescue operation for over a month. The state government has also deployed robots to carry out rescue activities at dangerous positions inside the tunnel.
Rescuers recovered the body of Gurpreet Singh, a TBM operator from Punjab, on March 9, and handed over the body to his family. The Telangana government also announced a solatium of Rs 25 lakh for his family. Trapped persons have been identified as Manoj Kumar (UP), Sunny Singh (J&K), Gurpreet Singh (Punjab) and Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, and Anuj Sahu, all from Jharkhand.
