Rescue work underway in Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel
| Photo Credit: By Arrangement

Two specialised sniffer dogs trained to trace cadavers are being flown from Kerala to the site of the partially collapsed Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Domalapenta of Nagarkurnool district to join the rescue teams in tracing the eight missing personnel including two site engineers deep inside the tunnel, on the 13^th day of the operation. The tunnel portion collapsed on February 22, 2025.

While the desilted material piled up inside the tunnel is being cleared through the loco unit and partially by the conveyor belts, two excavators of the Army are working round-the-clock to make further headway to the end of the tunnel.

A senior official associated with the rescue operation told The Hindu on Thursday (March 6, 2025) that conveyor belt is working along its entire length, which made shifting of desilted material easy.

“Six water jet sprays are installed by the State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) to wash out the silt from the damaged portion of the tunnel,” the official said. The focus of the rescue operation is now to clear the metal debris enroute and remove the complete silt to trace the workers.

Teams from the National Centre of Seismology, NGRI and GSI are working in the field – covering inside the tunnel as well as from the top to assess the geophysical characteristics. In addition, V B Maji, Professor of Civil Engineering from IIT, Chennai and a tunnel expert are on the site along with the technical team to provide help in the rescue operations.

In a related development, Advisor (Ops & Communications) National Disaster Management Authority, Col. K.P. Singh would arrive today to oversee the rescue operations.