More rescuers join search for trapped workers in India’s tunnel collapse

Seven days of operation have been conducted to free several workers trapped in a partially collapsed tunnel in southern India.

As India’s South Central Railway announced on Friday that its rescue team had joined the search to find the trapped workers in the Telangana state town of Nagarkurnool, more powerful equipment was deployed to speed up the search.

Railway experts have the skills to cut heavy metals using tools like a plasma cutter and a brocho cutting machine, according to spokesman A Sridhar. A Sridhar said rescuers were also helped by bringing screening equipment, high-quality shutters, and debris removal equipment to the location.

Prior to the incident, India’s national disaster response force had already joined rescue efforts on February 22.

A sudden inflow of water and soil caused a section of the tunnel to cave in, leading to the accident.

42 workers swam to safety shortly after the collapse, according to state tourism minister Jupally Krishna Rao earlier this week. They added that rescuers had called out to trapped workers through the rubble but had not received any response.

According to reports, the tunnel’s ventilation system was still operational, providing the trapped workers with oxygen.

Uttam Kumar Reddy, the minister of irrigation in Telangana, assured on Thursday that the rescue operation would be completed in two to three days and that tunnel work would start to resume in two to three months.

Reddy told reporters, “This is an unfortunate incident, but we are determined to bring them out safely.” A coordinated search and rescue operation was underway.

In India, there are frequently accidents on large-scale infrastructure construction sites.