Nagarkurnool (Telangana), Mar 28 (PTI) The search operation to locate six persons who have remained untraced in the partially collapsed Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project tunnel for over a month was underway on Friday, with rescue personnel continuously removing seeping water and soil, officials said.

Water seepage and accumulated soil inside the tunnel have posed significant challenges for the rescue team. Additionally, steel obstructions hindering the excavation process were being removed, an official release stated.

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Scientists from the Geological Survey of India (GSI) have provided inputs to aid the operation at the accident site, it said.

Efforts to remove the loco train cabins trapped under the soil inside the tunnel have been expedited, the release added.

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A total of eight individuals—including engineers and labourers—were trapped in the SLBC project tunnel when a portion of it collapsed on February 22.

The missing individuals have been identified as Manoj Kumar (Uttar Pradesh), Sri Niwas (Uttar Pradesh), Sunny Singh (Jammu & Kashmir), Gurpreet Singh (Punjab), and Sandeep Sahu, Jegta Xess, Santosh Sahu, and Anuj Sahu, all from Jharkhand.

Of the eight trapped, the bodies of two—Gurpreet Singh and Manoj Kumar—have been recovered.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)