The body, yet to be identified, was found 50 metre away from the conveyor belt where workers had been performing maintenance work before the tunnel collapse on 22 February.
Published Mar 25, 2025 | 11:10 AM ⚊ Updated Mar 25, 2025 | 5:18 PM
SLBC tunnel collapse. (Supplied)
Synopsis: The rescue teams found two more bodies inside the SLBC tunnel over a month after a collapse there. This discovery comes 17 days after the first body was recovered on 9 March. The fate of the remaining five trapped workers remains uncertain as teams continue their search.
The rescue teams found two bodies inside the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Telangana on Tuesday, 25 March, in the ongoing operation that has stretched for more than a month after a collapse there.
The bodies, yet to be identified, were found 50 metre away from the conveyor belt where workers had been performing maintenance work before the tunnel collapse on 22 February.
Rescue teams located the remains in the early hours of Tuesday, but the body was trapped in a difficult position, delaying its retrieval. “We found another dead body stuck in a position, and we are currently working to retrieve it,” rescue officials confirmed.
This discovery comes 17 days after the first body — that of Gurpreet Singh, a TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) operator — was recovered on 9 March. The fate of the remaining five trapped workers remains uncertain as teams continue their search.
With the rescue efforts now on the 32nd day, multiple agencies, including the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), Anvi Robotics, and Geological Survey of India (GSI), remain engaged in a round-the-clock operation to locate the missing individuals.
Authorities are still working to identify the second recovered body, and no further details have been released. The operation has been hampered by poor air and light conditions, as the accident site is 14 kilometres from the tunnel’s inlet.
Additionally, a 30-meter stretch of the accident zone has been deemed highly unstable, making excavation efforts even more perilous.
On Monday, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy chaired a high-level review meeting at the Assembly Hall, directing officials to expedite the rescue efforts and ensure that all possible measures are taken to locate the trapped workers. The chief minister appointed senior IAS officer Shiva Shankar Loteti as the special officer to continuously monitor the rescue operations.
During the meeting, State Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari, Disaster Management Special Chief Secretary Arvind Kumar, Colonel Parikshit Mehra, and other senior officials briefed the chief minister on the progress made over the past month.
Officials reported that 25 agencies, including teams from both Union and state governments as well as private firms, have been actively involved in the operation, with a total workforce of 700 personnel engaged in clearing debris, dismantling parts of the TBM, and removing silt, rocks, and seepage water from the tunnel.
The poor air quality and lighting conditions inside the tunnel have significantly slowed down the rescue efforts, with officials emphasising that scientific studies from GSI and the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) must guide operations in the hazardous zone.
The chief minister instructed officials to prioritise finding the missing workers, stating that all necessary permissions from the Union government should be obtained to facilitate emergency work inside the tunnel.
He also urged political unity, calling on all parties to work together in ensuring that the rescue mission reaches a successful conclusion.
The SLBC tunnel collapse on 22 February initially trapped eight workers, including engineers and labourers from Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, and Jharkhand.
Authorities remain hopeful that the ongoing multi-agency efforts, deployment of advanced machinery, and expert-guided excavation will lead to further progress in the coming days.
The rescue teams continue to work under extreme conditions, determined to bring closure to the families awaiting news of their loved ones.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil with inputs from Sumit Jha.)
