Six team members who carried out the courageous rescue operation at Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel in November 2023 have now joined the Army, NDRF, SDRF, and local agencies in a renewed effort to save eight workers trapped inside a collapsed section of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district. Among those trapped are two engineers.

With more than 36 hours passing and little progress in the rescue operation, the families of the trapped workers and rescue teams remain hopeful, drawing inspiration from the successful rescue of 41 workers who were stuck for 17 days in the Silkyara Bend-Barkot tunnel after a cave-in. Concerns grew over the possibility that debris, including parts of the tunnel's concrete slab, may have fallen on the eight trapped workers.

Until late Sunday, there was no contact with them, though rescue teams remained stationed just outside the collapse site, located 13.5 km inside the tunnel.

Efforts to reach the trapped men were hindered by silt and water, preventing teams from moving past the tunnel boring machine and debris.

Minister Jupally Krishna Rao, overseeing the rescue operation alongside his colleague N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, stated that waterlogging along a 2 km stretch leading to the collapse site further complicates the situation. "Getting through this is a challenging task. We have to flush out the water before the equipment can push ahead. Only then can the removal of debris can start. Additional motors have been brought to speed up water removal," he expressed.

According to an official from the irrigation department, only about 5 to 10 meters of space remained where the eight workers were thought to be trapped.

"The Telangana government has requisitioned the Uttarakhand tunnel rescue team along with rat-hole miners to assist in the operation because they have the expertise. Better to have more hands in such a situation. We hope all lives will be saved," he said further.

The ground exceeding the tunnel is 400 meters high, or about half a kilometre. The agencies conducting the operation are considering all possible ways to find the safest and most accessible exit for the trapped workers.