The rescue operation to trace the workers trapped in the SLBC tunnel is said to have reached a climax. The standing of the ambulances outside the Nagarkurnool Government hospital strengthens the news that there are no survivors from the SLBC tunnel collapse accident and that bodies have been found..
Reportedly, the bodies are being retrieved from the silt and debris accumulated in the tunnel and are likely to be shifted to Nagarkurnool District Hospital.According to reports, officials have arranged eight private ambulances from Hyderabad to take the deceased to their native places.
Additionally, the ambulance drivers were also informed in advance that they would have to drive to the said states. However, there is no official confirmation about bodies being found.
Meanwhile, Osmania Forensic Doctors reached the Srisailam Left Bank Canal Tunnel on Saturday. Forensic Department HOD Sridhar Chari along with two faculty and two PG doctors reached the spot. Relatives and family members of the deceased have already reached the tunnel. It is reported that the authorities will identify the bodies and hand them over to the relatives.
On Friday, the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) identified the location of the trapped workers using a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) device. Rescue teams have been scanning the entire area since early Friday morning, reaching the zero point using GPR.
On the other hand, the rescue operation has been going on in full swing for the last 36 hours. In addition to the 11 teams already there, experienced workers from Singareni, who are working underground, have been recently called in from Kothagudem. The officials have decided to conduct a high-level rescue operation on Friday with the NDRI, Ratminers team and Singareni team at the spots identified by the NDRI.
The special team that went inside in the morning with a GPR mission to find the whereabouts of those stuck in the ground reached inside in the evening with great difficulty and scanned it several times. Despite the danger of the place, it is said that accurate results were obtained without sacrificing lives.
The team identified five spots where workers were suspected to be trapped and came out. After examining the report that was scanned inside, it was initially confirmed that the workers must have been in those five spots. After marking, an Army, Navy and Singareni team were sent there on a war footing to find the whereabouts of those who had disappeared while digging the mud.
Nagarkurnool Collector Badawat Santosh told the media that the information coming in the media that the five spots were identified is completely false, but the fact that GPR scanning was done by NGRI is true. He said that the reports of scanning by this mission at the accident site are being examined. He asked some electronic media channels not to propagate anything that is not true before an official announcement.
However, Singareni CMD Balaram and SP Vaibhav Gaikwad revealed to media representatives that the initial report given by NDRI had identified five spots. This revealed a lack of coordination among the higher-ups.