Telangana tunnel collapse: Accidents happen during difficult works, says Jaypee Group founder

Jaiprakash Gaur, founder chairman of Jaypee Group, the contracting firm of Srisailam Left Bank Canal project that suffered partial collapse trapping eight persons, on Wednesday said accidents happened during difficult works.

Jaiprakash Associates Ltd, the flagship company of Jaypee Group, was awarded the contract of tunnel boring of SLBC.

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

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

Gaur further said the teams were doing their best to see that those trapped individuals come out.

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

The firm on February 23 informed the stock exchanges that a day before, between 10 am and 11 am, 60 persons  including engineers, technicians, operators and Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) incharge, were working at the location.

The incharge of the shift heard a 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.