Punjab man who died in Telangana tunnel collapse was sole breadwinner of family

Gurpreet Singh, whose body was pulled out from the partially collapsed Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Telangana, was the sole breadwinner of his family, his relatives said on Monday.

Singh, a resident of Punjab's Tarn Taran district, is survived by wife, two daughters aged 13 and 16, and mother, they said.

Singh, who worked as a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) operator for Robbins Co, was among the eight men trapped inside the tunnel after its partial collapse on February 22.

The body of Singh (40) was recovered from the tunnel on Sunday. Rescue operations continued on Monday to locate the remaining seven people.

His body was extricated following "very careful" digging and other efforts for more than 48 hours. It was buried under silt at a depth of about 10 feet, officials said.

Meanwhile, Singh's family at his native Cheema Kalan village here were inconsolable as villagers poured in to express their condolences.

His cousin, Pargat Singh Cheema, said Singh had been working with the company for the past two decades and was the only earning member in the family.

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has already announced an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh to Singh's family.