Nagarkurnool (Telangana) [India]: Rescue teams have recovered the body of a worker from the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Nagarkurnool, which collapsed on February 22, trapping eight workers inside. The deceased was identified as Gurpreet Singh, according to an official statement from the Telangana CMO.
Expressing condolences, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy offered their sympathies to the bereaved family. The Chief Minister also announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 25 lakhs for the next of kin of the deceased.
Rescue officials reported that the body was discovered trapped inside a machine within the collapsed section of the tunnel. An official stated, “We found one dead body stuck in the machine, with only the hand visible. The rescue teams are currently cutting the machine to retrieve the stuck body.”
The rescue operation was intensified with the assistance of the Kerala cadaver dog squad, which detected human remains inside the tunnel. Previously, the body of another worker was recovered on Sunday, as per officials.
On Saturday, Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy announced the deployment of robotic technology to expedite rescue operations at the SLBC tunnel near Domalapenta in Nagarkurnool. Describing the incident as a national disaster, he emphasized that the state government is using the best available global technology to tackle challenges in the final stretch of the 14-kilometre-long tunnel.
During a visit to the site, Minister Reddy reviewed the situation alongside officials from multiple national agencies, including State Disaster Management Secretary Arvind Kumar and Army Commandant Parikshit Mehra, who are supervising the rescue efforts. The minister revealed that cadaver dogs from Kerala detected a strong odour at a specific spot, suggesting the presence of three individuals. He assured full support from the government to the families of the missing workers.
Additionally, the minister inspected the ongoing dewatering and desilting operations and confirmed that further updates would be provided following a review on March 11.
Despite the continuous efforts of 11 national-level rescue teams over the past two weeks, locating and retrieving the remaining trapped workers has proven to be a significant challenge. The state government has consulted tunnel construction and rescue experts worldwide to determine the safest course of action. As of Saturday, around 525 personnel were engaged in the rescue mission.
The tragic incident occurred on February 22, when a three-metre section of the roof of an under-construction part of the SLBC tunnel collapsed at the 14 km mark near Domalapenta in Nagarkurnool. The collapse took place just four days after construction work had resumed following a prolonged pause. While some workers managed to escape, eight remained trapped inside.