Rescue teams working inside the collapsed Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Nagarkurnool, Telangana, have recovered one body from the debris, officials confirmed on Sunday. The tunnel collapsed on February 22, trapping eight workers inside.
The Kerala cadaver dog squad, brought in to assist the rescue operation, detected human remains inside the tunnel. According to officials, the deceased was found trapped in a machine in the collapsed section of the tunnel.
“We found one body stuck in the machine, with only the hand visible. Teams are currently cutting the machine to retrieve the body,” a rescue official reported.
Telangana Minister for Irrigation and Civil Supplies Uttam Kumar Reddy announced on Saturday that robotic technology had been deployed to speed up rescue operations. Calling the incident a national disaster, Reddy assured that the state government is using the best global technology to overcome the challenges of the final stretch of the 14-kilometre-long tunnel.
During his site visit, Reddy reviewed the situation with officials from multiple national agencies, including State Disaster Management Secretary Arvind Kumar and Army Commandant Parikshit Mehra. The minister also confirmed that cadaver dogs detected a strong odour at a specific location, suggesting the possible presence of three more workers. He promised full government support for the families of the missing workers.
Despite continuous efforts by 11 national-level rescue teams over the past two weeks, locating and retrieving the remaining trapped workers remains difficult. The government is consulting global tunnel construction and rescue experts to determine the safest approach. On Saturday alone, 525 personnel were engaged in the operation.
The collapse occurred on February 22 when a three-metre section of the roof of the under-construction SLBC tunnel caved in at the 14 km mark near Domalapenta in the Nagarkurnool district — just four days after construction had resumed following a long hiatus. While some workers managed to escape, eight were left trapped inside.
