Telangana Tunnel Collapse: 1 Body Recovered After Two Weeks of Rescue Operations

Nagarkurnool: After two weeks of rescue operations, teams recovered the body of Gurupreet Singh, one of the eight trapped men from under 10 ft of silt in the partially collapsed SLBC tunnel in Telangana.

A senior official told PTI that the body has been sent to Nagarkurnool Civil Hospital for post-mortem and other necessary procedures.

Efforts were on to ascertain the identity of the deceased, a police official said.

Telangana Tunnel Collapse: 1 Body Recovered After Weeks of Rescue Ops

The body could be extricated following "very careful" digging and other efforts for more than 48 hours, he said. It was buried under silt at a depth of about 10 feet.

Rescue officials praised the efforts of NDRF personnel, state-run miner Singareni Collieries Ltd, and rat miners for their roles in the operation. The search for the remaining workers is ongoing, the official added.

Also Read: Telangana Tunnel Collapse: South Central Railway Joins Rescue Teams

Earlier, the state government deployed cadaver dogs of Kerala police to look for human presence and the rescue personnel carried out digging at the spots suggested by the canines.

Telangana Govt Announces Ex-Gratia of Rs 25 Lakhs

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy expressed condolences over the death of the worker engaged in the SLBC Tunnel works.

Telangana Chief Minister's office also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakhs to the family of deceased.

Eight persons -- engineers and labourers -- remained trapped in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project tunnel since February 22 and experts from the NDRF, Indian Army, Navy and other agencies are making relentless efforts to pull them out to safety.

(with PTI inputs)