Telangana tunnel collapse: One body of worker recovered; CM announces ex-gratia of $28,600

The rescue teams traced the body of a worker from the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel, which collapsed on February 22 in Nagarkurnool, entrapping eight workers.

Telangana CM Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy expressed condolences over the death of the worker, identified as Gurpreet Singh, an official statement from Telangana CMO read.

The chief minister also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakhs for the kin of the deceased.

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The rescue teams had recovered one body on Sunday, as per officials.

The Kerala cadaver dog squad, roped in to assist in the rescue efforts, found human remains inside the tunnel.

According to rescue officials, the deceased was found trapped in a machine inside the collapsed section of the tunnel.

"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," said the official.

On Saturday, Telangana Minister for Irrigation and Civil Supplies Uttam Kumar Reddy announced that robotic technology had been deployed to accelerate the ongoing rescue operations at the SLBC tunnel near Domalapenta in the Nagarkurnool district, where eight workers remain trapped.

Calling the incident a national disaster, he emphasised that the state government is utilizing the best global technology to overcome the challenges in the final stretch of the 14-kilometre-long tunnel.
Visiting the site, he reviewed the situation with officials from multiple national agencies, including State Disaster Management Secretary Arvind Kumar and Army Commandant Parikshit Mehra, who are overseeing the rescue efforts.

Uttam Kumar Reddy informed that cadaver dogs from Kerala detected a strong odour at a specific location, indicating the presence of three individuals. He assured that the government would provide full support to the families of the missing workers. The minister also reviewed the ongoing dewatering and desilting efforts, confirming that updates would be provided after a review on March 11.

Despite continuous efforts by 11 national-level rescue teams over the past two weeks, locating and retrieving the trapped workers has remained a challenge. The government has consulted tunnel construction and rescue experts from across the globe to determine the safest course of action. On Saturday, 525 personnel were engaged in the rescue efforts.

On February 22, a three-metre section of the roof of an under-construction stretch of the SLBC tunnel collapsed at the 14 km mark near Domalapenta in Nagarkurnool district in Telangana. The collapse occurred just four days after construction work had resumed following a lengthy hiatus. While some workers managed to escape, the eight remained trapped.

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