After recovering the body of Gurpreet Singh, a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) operator on March 9, the dead body of another person who remained trapped inside the partially collapsed SLBC project tunnel.
Operations inside the SLBC tunnel are reaching their final stages, with officials saying on Tuesday, 47th day of the work, with the clearing of silt progressing smoothly, and restoration of the railway track till the 13.88 km point inside the tunnel being speeded up.
While the bodies of two of the workers have been found and handed over to their families, there has been no trace of the other six so far, Deccan Chronicle reported.
Once the locomotive track is restored till the 13.88 km point, clearing of the silt and the metal parts of the tunnel boring machine which is cut into smaller pieces for transport, can be further speeded up, officials said to DC.
The goal is to clear all debris till the last 30 metres of the tunnel. This has been declared as a prohibited zone amid fears that any disturbance to the silt and rocks piled up to the roof of the tunnel could result in a slippage and possible further collapse.
Officials said rescue workers had managed to divert the water flowing into the tunnel to a side channel cut through the silt. This has facilitated track restoration work.
After recovering the body of Gurpreet Singh, a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) operator on March 9, the dead body of another person who remained trapped inside the partially collapsed SLBC project tunnel for over a month was discovered on Tuesday, officials said.
The identity of the deceased is yet to be disclosed by the officials. According to PTI, the mortal remains of the individual were found on Tuesday morning.
The dead body was shifted to a hospital for post mortem and other procedures as per the norms.
For over a month, as many as 700 personnel belonging to 25 state, central, and private agencies have been engaged in the search and rescue operation to locate the seven persons who remained trapped, officials had said.