Hyderabad, Feb 24: Two teams of construction major Larsen & Toubro with advanced equipment on Monday joined the operation to rescue eight trapped workers from an under-construction tunnel, a portion of which collapsed on February 22 in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district.

L&T, which has the experience of the rescue operation in Uttarakhand, has brought endoscopic and robotic cameras

Nagarkurnool district Collector Badavath Santosh said the rescue teams had to cover a distance of another 40 meters to reach the point where the roof had collapsed. This stretch of the tunnel is filled with muck, making further advance of the rescue operations difficult.

The L&T teams will deploy endoscopic and robotic cameras to sift through the muck and communicate with survivors, if any, at the fag end of the tunnel.

The teams used the same equipment for rescue operations after the Silkyara Bend-Barkot tunnel collapsed in Uttarakhand, where 41 workers trapped inside were rescued after 17 days in 2023.

Multiple teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Army and other agencies continued rescue operation on Monday.

More than 48 hours after a portion of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel collapsed, the fate of eight men, including two engineers and two machine operators, was not known.

Teams of the Indian Air Force and Navy are also reaching Srisailam in three helicopters from Visakhapatnam to join the rescue operation.

NDRF personnel managed to reach the tunnel boring machine at the 14th-km point but heaps of debris hampered the search operation.

The tunnel remained flooded with water for about two kilometres, making the rescue task more challenging for more than 300 rescue workers. Rescue teams deployed heavy motors for dewatering.

The operation encountered more problems as the loco train to move into the tunnel broke down at the 11th kilometre. Efforts were on to fix the problem.

NDRF, Army, Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) and Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) were making intensive efforts to dewater and desilt the tunnel.

Ministers Uttam Kumar Reddy and Jupally Krishna Rao, who were supervising the rescue operation, went into the tunnel by a loco train on Sunday. Jupally Krishna Rao told media persons after coming out of the tunnel that the chances of finding the trapped persons alive were remote.

Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said all efforts were being made to pull out the trapped men safely. He said the possibility of reaching the spot by digging the tunnel from the top was being explored.

Two workers were injured and eight others were trapped when a portion of the tunnel was being dug as part of SLBC collapsed near Domalapenta.

A total of 50 persons were working on the left-side tunnel when the roof collapsed for three meters. The accident occurred at the 14th km point.

While 42 workers came out of the tunnel, the remaining eight were trapped. Those trapped include two engineers and two machine operators.

The trapped men are from Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir.

Project manager Manoj Kumar (Uttar Pradesh), Machine engineer Srinivas (Uttar Pradesh) and machine operators Sunny Singh (J&K) and Gurpreet Singh (Punjab) are among those trapped. The four workers from Jharkhand are Sandeep Sahu, Santosh Sahu, Anju Sahu and Jagta Khes.

Thane: A massive fire broke out in the Bhiwandi area of Maharashtra’s Thane district on Sunday night, February 23, causing chaos and disruption. The blaze erupted near Vedant Hospital at Vanjarpatti Naka around 10:30 pm, engulfing an auto parts shop and leading an immediate emergency response.

Two fire tenders and local police arrived swiftly to tackle the raging flames. Visuals of the blaze surfaced on the internet. As the fire spread, vehicular traffic was severely affected, leading to traffic jams in the Vanjarpatti Naka area. The Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC) dispatched five additional fire engines to aid in firefighting operations.

Fire Doused Off After 4 Hours

After several hours of intense efforts, the fire was brought under control by 2 am on Monday. Cooling operations continued into the morning to prevent any rekindling of the flames. An official from the BNMC’s fire control services confirmed that an investigation was underway to determine the exact cause of the fire.

Another Major Fire Reported Just Days Before

Just days before, on Wednesday, February 19, another major fire erupted at a logistics company godown in Bhiwandi, leading to the widespread destruction of stored goods, including perfumes and cardboards. The blaze broke out around 4:30 am at the godown near Yevai Naka on the Mumbai-Nashik Highway.

Civic officials from the BNMC stated that, fortunately, no casualties were reported in this incident. However, the fire caused major material losses as it consumed the warehouse’s contents. Firefighters battled the flames for several hours, finally bringing the situation under control by 1 pm.

The cause of this fire is also under investigation, as authorities seek to understand whether it was due to an accident, negligence, or other factors.

These back-to-back incidents have raised concerns among residents and local authorities about fire safety measures in Bhiwandi. The area, known for its warehouses and commercial hubs, may require stricter safety protocols and inspections to prevent such dangerous events in the future.

Mumbai: A massive fire broke out in Mumbai’s Marine Lines on Saturday. The blaze rupted on the top floor of a residential building, Marine Chambers. The building is located near Gol Masjid.

The fire broke out at around 12.30 pm on Saturday. After receiving information, several fire tenders reached the spot. Senior officials also rushed to the place where the blaze erupted.

Visuals of the fire also surfaced online. In the video, an envelope of black smoke could seen billowing out of the building. This led to panic among the locals.

A firefighting operation is currently underway.

The reason for the blaze is not yet known. There are no reports of any injuries.