SLBC tunnel collapse: 4 trapped men located, survival chance '1%'

The rescue operations to pull out the eight people trapped inside the partially collapsed SLBC tunnel here for a week saw a breakthrough on Saturday with the whereabouts of four of them being located, though a Telangana minister put the chances of their survival at "one per cent."

State Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao, who attended a meeting with officials involved in the rescue operation along with Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, said there was a lot of progress during the last couple of days.

"In my view, the whereabouts of four persons have been located through radar," he told reporters at the tunnel and expressed hope they would be extricated by Sunday evening.

Asked about the



condition of the four whose whereabouts have been found, the minister recalled he had said on the first day itself that the chances of survival of the trapped persons are remote.

"I had said the chances (of survival) are very, very remote. I am not talking about it but waiting in view of one per cent possibility (for survival)," he said.

Krishna Rao added desilting was being carried out manually where the whereabouts of four persons has been identified which is expected to be completed by Sunday evening.

Scientists from the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) used Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and detected some "anomalies" inside the tunnel, providing a crucial lead in the operation.