Minister’s grim remark on trapped workers: ‘We shouted their names, but…’

In a bleak remark regarding the chances of finding survivors in the SLBC project tunnel incident, Telangana minister J Krishna Rao stated on Monday that rescuers called out for the eight trapped workers but received no reply. The minister additionally stated that the likelihood of their survival is “extremely, extremely, extremely, extremely unlikely.” He mentioned that mud had accumulated in the section of the tunnel that had collapsed during construction.

“To be honest, the chances of their survival are very, very, very, very remote. Because, I went up to the end, almost just 50 meters short (of the mishap site). When we took photographs, the end (of the tunnel) was visible. And out of the 9-meter diameter (of the tunnel), almost 30 feet, out of that 30 feet, mud has piled up to 25 feet,” he told .

“When we shouted their names also, there was no response…so, there is no chance at all,” he added.

The minister stated that rescue attempts have been joined by a group of rat miners who saved the construction workers who were trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand in 2023. According to him, mud and debris are obstructing the rescuers’ progress, so it would take three to four days to get to the stranded workers. According to Krishna Rao, the debris removal procedure is now under progress. Inside the tunnel, the officials are pumping in oxygen. They’re attempting to dewater it as well.

“Even, even assuming they (the trapped persons) are in the lower part of the TBM machine, assuming even if it is intact on the top, where is the air (oxygen)? Underneath, how the oxygen will go,” he asked.

The officials said that they are looking at other ways to get to the accident scene by removing the debris from the tunnel’s dirt mounds.

Since Saturday, the Indian Army, NDRF, and other organizations have been heavily involved in the rescue effort. But as of right now, no breakthrough was possible. Manoj Kumar and Sri Niwas from Uttar Pradesh, Sunny Singh from Jammu & Kashmir, Gurpreet Singh from Punjab, and Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, Santosh Sahu, and Anuj Sahu from Jharkhand have been identified as the individuals who have been confined within the tunnel for more than two days.