Telangana Tunnel collapse: In a breakthrough in the rescue operation on Saturday, the rescue team located the whereabouts of four of the eight people trapped inside the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Nagarkurnool, Telangana.
According to the authorities, Scientists from the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) detected some "anomalies" inside the tunnel by using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), providing a crucial lead in the operation.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy will visit the tunnel site on Sunday evening. He will hold a review meeting with officials on the rescue operation.
According to state Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao, the other four people are believed to be trapped beneath the tunnel boring machine and it may take some time to bring them out.
'Remote chances of survival'
To a reporter's query on the condition of the four whose whereabouts have been found, the minister had said the chances of survival are remote.
Efforts to remove silt at locations where the trapped persons were detected inside the partially collapsed SLBC tunnel here have been intensified with an increased deployment of personnel and equipment.
The damaged conveyor belt, which was impacted by the collapse, is expected to be repaired by Monday, an official said on Sunday.
Once restored, it will allow for easier removal of muck and debris from the tunnel.
"The number of personnel and equipment at the identified locations is being increased," he said, adding the process of silt removal and dewatering is ongoing continuously.
Eight persons--engineers and labourers have been trapped under the collapsed roof of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel since February 22 and the rescue operations are on in full swing to pull them out to safety.
The trapped persons have been identified as Manoj Kumar (UP), Sri Niwas (UP), Sunny Singh (J&K), Gurpreet Singh (Punjab) and Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, Santosh Sahu and Anuj Sahu, all from Jharkhand.
(With PTI inputs)