Rescue operations are underway after eight people were trapped inside the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Nagarkurnool district following a collapse on February 22, 2025.
The country’s top nine rescue agencies, including the Indian Army, Navy, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and the National Hydrological Investigation agency, are working around the clock to save those trapped inside.
Rat miners have also arrived in Nagarkurnool for the ongoing rescue operation.
Reports suggest that trapped men are from Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.
Telangana Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy confirmed that a unified command of experienced personnel has been set up to oversee the rescue operation.
The teams are in constant communication, meeting every few hours to assess the situation and adapt to the challenges that arise. High-ranking Army and Navy officials have also been stationed at the site to manage the operations directly. Special Chief Secretary (Revenue – Disaster Management) Arvind Kumar is acting as the nodal person to monitor developments.
Also read: Hopes dim for 8 trapped in Telangana tunnel as rescue nears end
The disaster began on the morning of February 22 when the personnel from The Robbins Company, a US-based firm renowned for its Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM), were working as usual in the tunnel.
Project manager Glen stated that a small leak was noticed but it was not considered unusual. Such leaks are common in large-scale tunnel projects. However, a sudden rush of water and muck caused a powerful force that pushed the machinery back. Workers ran for their lives, but eight people close to the breach could not escape and were trapped.
Glen managed to escape in time, and the site engineers believe the mishap could have been caused by a geological fault. Work on the SLBC tunnel was halted for almost five years during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) regime. It resumed only after the Congress Government came to power.
The SLBC project was initially agreed upon in 2005 under the leadership of the late Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy. The tunnel spans 44 km, with 35 km of it already completed. When finished, it will be the longest irrigation tunnel in the world. The project aims to draw 30 tmcft of water to irrigate four lakh acres of land in the Nalgonda and Khammam districts.
Despite the ‘freak accident’, Minister Reddy has expressed hope that the joint rescue teams will successfully conclude the operation. However, it remains unclear when the rescue will be completed.
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