Telangana tunnel collapse: CM suggests taking expert advice to expedite search op

Hyderabad, Mar 24 (PTI) Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday told officials to take expert advice to expedite the operation to locate seven persons remain trapped inside the partially collapsed SLBC tunnel in Nagarkurnool district.

Reddy, who held a meeting with officials involved in the search operation, instructed that IAS officer Shivashankar Lotheti be appointed to monitor the search efforts.

He asked Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari to issue orders in this regard, an official release said.

The officials briefed Chief Minister about the status of the operation.

The search operation has been underway since February 22 when the tunnel collapsed partially.

The process of dewatering and removal of soil was going on continuously at the ‘D1, D2’ spots identified for possible human presence, officials said on Sunday.

The broken parts of the huge Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) which were obstructing excavation at the ‘D1, D2’ spots were being removed, they said.

The teams of NDRF, Telangana SDRF, South Central Railway and state-run miner Singareni Collieries are working continuously for the operation.

The body of Gurpreet Singh, a TBM operator, was recovered on March 9 and handed over to his family in Punjab. Seven others remain trapped inside the tunnel.

A total of eight individuals—including engineers and labourers—were trapped in the SLBC project tunnel when a portion of it collapsed on February 22.