Sat Feb 22 12:40:00 UTC 2025: ## Tunnel Collapse Traps Eight Workers in Telangana
**Nagarkurnool, Telangana:** A portion of the SLBC tunnel under construction in Telangana collapsed Saturday morning, trapping eight workers. The incident occurred at the 14th kilometer mark of the left tunnel, where a three-meter section of the ceiling fell.
Ministers Uttam Kumar Reddy and Jupally Krishna Rao visited the site and addressed the media. They explained that the collapse occurred around 8:30 AM after a boring machine was activated, triggering a water leak that destabilized the soil. While 42 workers were safely evacuated, eight—including a project engineer, a field engineer, four laborers, and two boring machine operators from various states including Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab—remain trapped.
Officials assured that the trapped workers have adequate ventilation and that rescue teams, including experts consulted based on a similar incident in Uttarakhand, are en route and expected to arrive by night. The government is reportedly making every effort to rescue the trapped individuals. The rescue operation is challenging due to the workers’ location deep within the 14-kilometer tunnel.
First Piper 