Telangana Minister for Tourism and Culture said on Monday that there were “very, very, very, very remote” chances of survival for the eight persons trapped in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal tunnel in Nagarkurnool district after the structure partially collapsed two days ago, reported PTI.

Rao added that a team of rat-hole miners, who previously rescued trapped workers in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara Bend-Barkot tunnel in 2023, has joined the rescue effort – which has been hindered by muck and debris at the accident site. He explained that rescuing the trapped individuals would take at least three to four days.

“To be honest, the chances of their survival are very, very, very, very remote,” Rao told PTI. “Because, I myself went up to the end, almost just 50 meters short [of the accident site]. When we took photographs, the end [of the tunnel] was visible. And out of the 9-meter diameter [of the tunnel] – almost 30 feet…mud has piled up to 25 feet.”

Rao said that the debris was being cleared with heavy machinery.

A three-metre stretch of the collapsed on Saturday, injuring about a dozen workers. Over 50 persons were said to have been working at the site with a tunnel-boring machine when the accident ocurred.

The eight individuals...