200 Workers Rescued After Being Trapped in Veligonda Tunnel Floods

Nellore: A major tragedy was averted at the Veligonda Project in Prakasam district after nearly 200 workers were trapped inside a tunnel when sudden floodwaters entered the site late on Tuesday evening. Thanks to the swift action of project officials, all workers were rescued safely.

According to officials, lining work was in progress in the project’s second tunnel near Kotturu village in Peddadornala mandal when heavy inflows from nearby streams unexpectedly flooded the area, cutting off escape routes and trapping around 150 workers underground.

Upon receiving information, project officials and rescue teams immediately launched evacuation efforts. All the trapped workers were brought out through the tunnel’s vertical entry shaft and moved to Kollam vagu near the Krishna River.

Veligonda Project Executive Engineer P. Krishna Reddy confirmed that all workers were safe. He said arrangements had been made to transport them by boats to Srisailam. “Around 250 workers were stationed at the site. The first batch has already been moved, and the second batch is en route,” he told Deccan Chronicle, adding that each boat journey takes nearly two hours to reach Sunnipenta near Srisailam.

The incident initially caused panic among the workers’ families, but relief followed once it was confirmed that all had been rescued unharmed.