Nagarkurnool – On Tuesday, robots joined the rescue operation to find seven people who have been trapped in a collapsed tunnel since February 22. A team from a robotics company in Hyderabad sent a robot into the tunnel early Tuesday morning, along with 110 rescue workers.
The Telangana government decided to use robots to keep rescuers safe because the tunnel is filled with water and mud, making it dangerous. State irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy announced on March 8 that they would spend ₹4 crores for the robot experts to help. Pieces of a large Tunnel Boring Machine are underwater and have caused risky conditions.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy visited the tunnel on March 2 and suggested using robots to protect rescue workers. Teams from different organizations, including the NDRF and Singareni Collieries, are working together, following cadaver dogs and radar surveys to focus on areas where the trapped workers might be.
Two days ago, the rescuers found the body of Gurpreet Singh, who was an operator for a foreign company. His family in Punjab received ₹25 lakhs as compensation. The other seven people trapped are Manoj Kumar, Sunny Singh, Gurpreet Singh (another one), Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, and Anuj Sahu, and they all come from Jharkhand. The eight workers got stuck when a part of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal project tunnel collapsed.