SLBC Tunnel in Telangana Suffers Major Collapse Due to Water Pressure
A three-meter section of the roof in the under-construction SLBC tunnel near Domalapenta, Nagarkurnool, collapsed on Saturday morning, trapping several workers inside. The 44-km-long tunnel behind the Srisailam dam, which had experienced seepage issues from the start, gave way due to excessive water pressure. While workers were placing cement concrete arcs to reinforce the tunnel walls, the seepage—typically 2,000 to 3,000 liters per minute—suddenly surged, causing the newly excavated section to collapse.
At the time of the incident, 51 workers were inside, carrying out excavation 120 km from Hyderabad. Most escaped, but some, including two site engineers, remain trapped near the 14-km mark, behind a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM). The heavy TBM, weighing hundreds of tons, was pushed 200 meters by the force of gushing water, leading to waterlogging along a 2-km stretch.
Rescue operations are in full swing with NDRF, SDRF, and the Indian Army deploying endoscopic and robotic cameras. A dog squad is assisting, while dewatering efforts continue. A special rat-mining team, which had successfully rescued workers from the Silkyara Bend-Barkot tunnel in Uttarakhand last year, has joined the mission.
