Nagarkurnool (Telangana) [India], February 28 (ANI): Rescue operations are underway at the SLBC tunnel in Nagarkurnool, where eight workers remain trapped after a portion of the tunnel collapsed on February 22.

The latest visuals from the site show rescue teams using cutting machines to cut through rods as they continue their efforts to reach the trapped workers.

On February 22, a three-meter section of the roof of an under-construction stretch of the SLBC tunnel collapsed at the 14 km mark near Domalapenta in the Nagarkurnool district, Telangana. The collapse occurred just four daays after construction work resumed following a lengthy hiatus. While some workers managed to escape, eight remained trapped.

Meanwhile, Telangana Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy provided an update on the ongoing rescue operations at the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel collapse site and said that officials had come up with a foolproof plan to minimise the risk for the rescuers involved in the rescue operation, and it will also accelerate the speed.

'The assessment was that the people going in to rescue and bring out the survivors would themselves be at great risk. We have assessed the situation, and now we are clearly seeing how to minimise the risk for rescuers and how to proceed. We have made a concrete plan of action. We will be going faster to save the survivors and for all rescue and relief operations,' said Uttam Kumar Reddy.

He further strongly condemned BRS leaders, especially Harish Rao, for criticizing the rescue operations. He blamed the previous BRS regime for the tunnel accident, stating that it neglected the SLBC project for a decade. Ne accused them of abandoning the work and failing to complete the project, which, if finished on time, would have provided 30 TMC of water to Telangana, benefiting three to four lakh acres of agricultural land in Nalgonda.

'The BRS leaders left this project incomplete. If they had worked efficiently, this project would have been finished long ago, and Telangana farmers would have had enough water,' he said. (ANI)