South Central Railway has joined the rescue teams

Metro India News | nagarkurnool

Over 500 rescuers worked on a war footing on Friday to help trace the eight people who have been trapped in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel, a portion of which collapsed six days ago. However, no breakthrough has been achieved yet.

Meanwhile, Nagarkurnool District Collector B Santhosh dismissed reports that NGRI's ground penetrating radar (GPR) have captured images of human bodies in debris of the SLBC tunnel where eight persons were trapped.

South Central Railway (SCR) has joined the rescue teams, with necessary equipment. Railways has the expertise in cutting heavy metals using equipment such as plasma cutter and Brocho cutting machine, SCR Chief Public Relations officer A Sridhar said. "Nagarkurnool district collector sought the help of SCR in the rescue operation by clearing iron and steel debris that have been hindering the rescue works at the site,” A Sridhar told the news agency.

He further said that the SCR quickly responded to the call and deployed two teams of metal cutting experts in the rescue mission. The first batch led by S Murali, Divisional Mechanical Engineer, consisting a senior Section Engineer, 13 welders and two technicians from Secunderabad have reached the site and have taken up the required works.

The second batch of experts also reached the site to support the first team, last night, he further said. Meanwhile, Singareni Collieries Company Ltd in a press release said as per government's instructions, the coal miner has deployed 200 personnel for the ongoing rescue operations at SLBC tunnel.

These individuals have been organized into four shifts to ensure continuous and efficient progress. “Our employees are well-trained, highly skilled, and proficient in using various cutting equipment essential for the tasks at hand. Additionally, the rescue teams are thoroughly equipped with first aid knowledge to handle any emergencies,” it said. The teams are working hard to restore the track line up to the tunnel boring machine while simultaneously loading the slush and other materials into tubs, SCCL said.