Telangana tunnel collapse: 6 out of 8 stuck workers from Jaypee Group, founder says ‘accidents happen’

As eight workers stay trapped at the site of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal project following a partial tunnel collapse, the contracting firm Jaypee Group's founder and chairperson Jaiprakash Gaur on Wednesday said accidents may happen during difficult works.

Jaiprakash Associates Ltd., which is the flagship company of Jaypee Group, had won the contract for tunnel boring of the SLBC project.

Speaking to reporters at the accident site after meeting Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, the nonagenarian said he had seen six to seven accidents during his professional career.

"In these difficult works, such things happen. In my life, I think there might be six or seven accidents, the Tehri (project), in Bhutan, in J&K, everywhere. You have to encounter all this," he was quoted as saying by PTI.

Two engineers and four labourers of the eight trapped persons are working for Jaiprakash Associates.

The Jaypee Group chairperson added that the rescue teams are doing their best to see that those trapped individuals come out.

Jaypee Group's statement

The company on February 23 informed the stock exchanges that a day before, between 10 AM and 11 Am, 60 people including engineers, technicians, operators and Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) in-charge were working at the location.

The in-charge of the shift observed sound and intuitively ordered evacuation and ran for safety as huge amounts of water, stones, sludge and mud came down from the roof and filled the entire area in length of about 300 meters.

Unfortunately, when the headcount was taken, it came to be known that eight workers which included two officers got trapped in the debris. With the response team, medical team and support of departmental officers, district administration, efforts have been going on to retrieve the trapped workmen and officials, the exchange intimation said.

(With PTI inputs)