SLBC Tunnel: Workers stuck 14 km in, 400 metres below surface

The state and Central governments rushed teams from the NDRF, fire and police departments and the Singareni Collieries to the accident-struck SLBC tunnel at Domalapenta village, but the rescue effort is expected to be a hard one.

Though the tunnel is around 10 metres wide and tall, and can accommodate heavy vehicles and a large number of personnel, as on Saturday evening, 12 hours after the accident occurred, rescue efforts were yet to be mounted in full.

Getting to the accident site means a 14 km travel, the length of the tunnel that has been dug so far. Asked about the possibility of drilling down from the top to access the accident spot, a senior irrigation department official said this would be an extremely challenging task.

“The rock over the tunnel where the accident occurred, is around 400 metres thick. This may not be an option. The best chances are to try and reach the trapped workers by removing the collapsed soil and rock, but that will have to be done very carefully, and that too only after a proper assessment of the situation at the location,” the official said.

“Though the tunnel is lined with strong and interlocking cement concrete rings, the collapse occurred just near the tunnel boring machine (TBM) head where the rock surface remains exposed during drilling. The engineers from Robbins have lot of expertise and have worked using various materials to seal leaks, grout the rock to stop leakages. I hope that the rescue attempt will be successful,” the official said.

Meanwhile, till late on Saturday evening, there were no further reports of any more damage inside the tunnel raising hopes that the conditions may have stabilised enough to allow rescue operations to begin.

“It does not matter if it is day or night as it is dark in the tunnel and now with the power supply restored soon after the accident, work can start as all the lights are back on. We are all hoping that the trapped workers have access to air,” the official adde