Hyderabad, March 10: Day after recovering one body from the debris, rescue teams continued intense efforts to search for the remaining seven people in the SLBC tunnel in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district on Monday.

Rescue teams from various agencies were undertaking digging work at another point identified by the cadaver sniffer dog squad from Kerala.

Rat miners from Uttarakhand, miners from Singareni Collieries and personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were carefully digging around the point with mini-excavators.

The search operation continued for the 17th day in the last 70 metres of the 14-km-long tunnel, where the eight workers were trapped after a portion of the tunnel roof collapsed on a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) on February 22.

Rescue workers on Sunday evening exhumed one body from the point identified by the cadaver dog squad.

The body was identified as that of TBM operator Gurpreet Singh. The 40-year-old hailed from Punjab and was working for Robbins Company, which supplies and operates tunnel boring machines.

The body was shifted to government hospital at Nagarkurnool and after completing medical and legal formalities was taken to his hometown in Punjab.

The seven people yet to be traced are Manoj Kumar and Sri Niwas from Uttar Pradesh, Sunny Singh from Jammu and Kashmir and Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, Santosh Sahu and Anuj Sahu, all from Jharkhand.

The rescue agencies hoped that more bodies would be recovered soon based on the sniffer dog leads and the ground probing radar (GPR) scanning information provided by the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI).

The rescue workers continued to face challenges due to the debris of the TBM and the large amount of muck.

The TBM, which had a total length of 132.5 metres, was buried under silt and rocks in the February 22 incident.

The workers who were present in the front portion of the TBM were trapped while 42 others who were at the back end managed to come out of the tunnel.

The technicians from the South Central Railway (SCR) have so far cut the TBM into pieces for a length of about 60 metres.

The head portion of the TBM remained buried in the debris and the last 70 metres of the tunnel is still filled with 3 to 9 metres deep slush and other debris, posing a risk to the rescue workers.

While continuing dewatering and desilting, the rescue agencies were mobilising special equipment for the workers to carry out their work without the risk of being trapped in the slush.

Two cadaver dogs trained to locate missing humans and human bodies were brought from Kerala by a special helicopter three days ago.

According to officials, these dogs of the Belgian Malinois breed can detect smell even from a depth of 15 feet.

Indian Army, Navy, NDRF, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Singareni, SCR and other agencies are participating in the search operation.

The authorities on Saturday deployed robots for rescue operations in the tunnel as suggested by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy during his visit to the tunnel on March 2.

Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy announced the deployment of robotic technology to accelerate rescue operations.

Robots equipped with cameras, infrared sensors, and robotic arms have been deployed to assess conditions and aid extraction.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy expressed condolences over the death of Gurpreet Singh and announced Rs 25 lakh ex-gratia to his next of kin.

Hyderabad, March 3: The rescue operation in the partially collapsed Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district entered its 10th day on Monday, with the authorities exploring the possibility of using robots to trace the eight trapped men.

Multiple rescue teams of various agencies of the Centre and state continued desilting and machine-cutting at the locations identified by the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) after scanning the accident site through Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR).

The rescue teams of the Army, Navy, NDRF, SDRF, Singareni Mines Rescue, Fire Services, HYDRAA, South Central Railway plasma cutters, and Rat Miners continued to face impediments like water seepage.

The rescue workers are unable to remove silt, water and debris from the tunnel due to lack of a functional conveyor belt. Technical teams were busy repairing the belt, and it is expected to become functional by Monday evening, and this is expected to help in speeding up the rescue operation.

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Sunday suggested the use of robots in the tunnel in which eight persons have remained trapped since February 22.

The Chief Minister, who visited the tunnel and held a review meeting with agencies involved in the rescue operation, asked officials to examine the possibility of using robots to prevent any further loss of life.

“Eight missing persons have not yet been traced. Experts have not concluded whether they are alive or dead,” he said.

The Chief Minister said it may take another 2-3 days for the rescue workers to come to a conclusion.

Chief Minister Reddy said the agencies involved in the rescue have not been able to come to a conclusion about the location of the machines and human beings, though they have tentatively identified the areas.

He assured that the state government would extend all help to the families of eight persons who had come from other states to work as engineers, machine operators or labourers. Stating that helping them is the responsibility of the government, he stressed the need for all to come together to console the families affected by the accident.

Two workers were injured, and eight others were trapped when a portion of the tunnel roof collapsed on February 22 at the 14th km point.

The trapped persons have been identified as Manoj Kumar and Sri Niwas from Uttar Pradesh, Sunny Singh (J&K), Gurpreet Singh (Punjab) and Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, Santosh Sahu and Anuj Sahau, all from Jharkhand.

Of the eight, two are engineers, two are operators, and the remaining four are labourers. They were employed by Jaiprakash Associates, the contracting firm for the tunnel project

Mumbai: A fire broke out in a residential flat on the fifth floor of a six-storey building in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar area on Saturday afternoon. The incident occurred around 12:45 pm at Vikas Apartment, located behind Pant Nagar police station in Ghatkopar East. Visuals of the blaze have surfaced on the internet showing massive flames coming out of the flat’s window.

According to a media report quoting fire brigade officials, the blaze was swiftly brought under control, and no injuries were reported. A fire engine and a water tanker were dispatched to the site to carry out the firefighting operation and the flames were completely doused by 1:20 pm. The exact cause behind the fire is yet to be ascertained.

Fire On 42nd Floor Of Byculla High-rise

This incident follows another major fire that erupted on Friday morning in a high-rise residential building, Salsette 27, located on B A Road, Byculla East. The fire broke out in a flat on the 42nd floor of the 57-storey tower. The Mumbai Fire Brigade received the first alert about the blaze at approximately 10:45 am, and it was successfully extinguished by 1:10 pm. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.

According to Mumbai Fire Brigade officials, Salsette 27 is a newly constructed high-rise that is only partially occupied. The fire originated in flat number 4203, which was vacant and undergoing renovation at the time.

Chief Fire Officer (CFO) Ravindra Ambulgekar stated that while the exact cause of the fire is yet to be determined, there is a possibility that renovation work might have contributed to the incident. He also confirmed that the building’s internal firefighting system was in working condition.

Some residents reportedly evacuated the building before emergency services reached the scene, while others were safely escorted out by fire officials.