Telangana tunnel collapse: Rescue ops continue as TBM parts being cut to reach trapped workers
Nagarkurnool (Telangana) (PTI): Rescue teams engaged in extricating the eight trapped workers under a partially collapsed tunnel of the SLBC here are cutting down a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) to make way to reach the stranded persons, officials said on Saturday
The rescue efforts are on in full swing, a week after the engineers and labourers were trapped under the collapsed roof of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel.
Teams comprising personnel from NDRF, Army, state-run miner Singareni Collieries, rat miners and other agencies are working continuously, Nagarkurnool Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Gaikwad said.
"The rescue operation is going on... (Saturday) morning a team went inside (the tunnel)... The process of dewatering, removing debris is also going on simultaneously", the SP told PTI.
The parts of TBM are also being cut to clear the path ahead, he added.
"Whatever obstacles are coming in between (to reach the spot where they can search for trapped persons), we have to remove them."
According to an official, the damaged part of the conveyor belt in the tunnel was expected to be repaired on Saturday.
Meanwhile, scientists from the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) used Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and detected some "anomalies" inside the tunnel.
However, it is unclear what these anomalies represent, given the challenging conditions inside the tunnel, including mud and saturated water bodies, official sources said.
Rescue personnel need to examine these "anomalies" further to identify them, they added.
Eight persons, working on the SLBC tunnel project, were trapped after a portion of the tunnel collapsed on February 22.
A team of over 500 skilled personnel from the Army, Navy, Singareni Collieries and other agencies were involved in the rescue ops over the past few days.
The trapped persons have been identified as Manoj Kumar (UP), Sri Niwas (UP), Sunny Singh (J&K), Gurpreet Singh (Punjab) and Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, Santosh Sahu and Anuj Sahu, all from Jharkhand.
Of the eight, two are engineers, two are operators and the remaining four are labourers from Jharkhand.
The two engineers and four labourers are working for Jaiprakash Associates, the contracting firm of SLBC tunnel project.
State Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao, Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari left for the accident site from here, sources said.
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11-year-old dies by suicide after sexual assault in Bareilly; accused arrested
Bareilly (UP) (PTI): A 26-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl, who later died by suicide due to trauma, police said on Wednesday.
The post-mortem report confirmed sexual assault and multiple injuries on the minor's body, including bite marks and nail scratches. The cause of death was found to be hanging, they said.
According to ASP (South) Anshika Verma, the incident came to light on 27 April, when the girl, a Class 8 student, was found hanging at her home in Deoria Abdullaganj village under the Mirganj police station area. Initially, the family reported the death as suicide and was reluctant to pursue police action.
"The autopsy report changed the course of the investigation. It confirmed sexual assault and noted severe physical trauma. The cause of death was confirmed as hanging," Verma said.
A breakthrough in the case came from the statement of the victim's younger sister, who told police that the accused, Zeeshan (26), a resident of the same village, frequently loitered near the minor's school and allegedly gave her small sums of money to keep his interactions with her a secret, she said.
Police said that on the day of the incident, the accused allegedly lured the minor and assaulted her. Distressed by the incident, the child later took her own life while her mother was away, police said.
"Based on technical surveillance, CCTV footage, and statements from the family, we established Zeeshan's involvement. He was arrested near the Mirganj weekly market on Tuesday," they said.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the state’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416.)
