The mood is gloomy at the tunnel workers’ colony in Domalapenta in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district.“Like us, they chose this job despite knowing it is dangerous work because the income helps their families survive. We have often talked about minor water seepage incidents. Par majboori hai, kaam toh karna padta hai (but we have to work, there’s no avoiding it),” said Sanjay Sah, a welder, about the eight people trapped inside the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel after part of it collapsed Saturday.Sah was among 50 people who went into the tunnel at 7 am on Saturday. Sometime later, a portion of the tunnel’s roof collapsed 13.5 km inside. Sah and 41 others ran to safety, but it was only after they exited the tunnel that they realised eight had not made it out.“The night shift workers had informed us about water leaking into the tunnel. But this has happened several times, and we went in exercising caution,” he said. They walked over 13 km into the tunnel, which took about an hour, according to Sah.Read | Why the rescue of 8 men trapped in the Telangana tunnel is a daunting task“After 15-20 minutes of us getting there, chunks of mud started falling. I was just 20 metres away (from where the collapse happened). The shift in-charge told us to move and the alarm was sounded. We just ran. Within a few minutes, there was a loud sound, and a portion of the tunnel collapsed. It was only when we came out and checked the attendance register that we realised eight had not made it out,” Sah said. A portion of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel near Domalapenta reportedly collapsed in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district. (X/@kishanreddybjp)A massive rescue operation is underway to bring the trapped men out. It involves around 300 trained personnel, including 128 from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 120 from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), 23 from Singareni Collieries and 24 from the Army.While rescuers have reached over 13 km inside the tunnel, the water and slush in the next few hundred metres have prevented the rescuers from getting to the trapped men.Story continues below this adOn Sunday evening, NDRF commandant Prasanna Kumar, who is supervising the rescue efforts, told The Indian Express that they had dewatered the area.“Now, we are removing the slush and trying to reach the other side. Progress is slow as the team moves in a zig-zag pattern due to the heavy slush and the risks involved. They have gone over the slush and mud, and there is still about 100 metres left to cover. Hopefully, they will cover it tonight and reach the place where we believe the eight persons are trapped. Our team is making sounds and calling out to the trapped men,” he said.Earlier in the day, Telangana Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said, “We are considering three options – drilling from above, drilling from the side, or desilting the area to extract the survivors.”Army personnel who inspected the tunnel said that “a section of the roof, approximately three metres in length of the under-construction SLBC tunnel, collapsed and swift rescue operations are ongoing”. An Army statement said that Telangana and Andhra Sub Area teams of the Army are coordinating the rescue operation. The Engineer Task Force of the Bison Division from Secunderabad has also been deployed.Story continues below this ad Visuals of the collapsed portion of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel, in which at least eight workers are feared trapped. (Photo: SDRF/ANI)The trapped workers have been identified as Manoj Kumar and Sri Niwas from Uttar Pradesh; Sandeep Sahu, Jagta Xess, Santosh Sahu and Anuj Sahu from Jharkhand; Sunny Singh from Jammu and Kashmir; and Gurpreet Singh from Punjab.Anuj’s cousin Sanjiv Sahu was also inside the tunnel when the collapse happened but was among those who managed to get out safely. “We live in the same room in the workers’ colony and went inside together on Saturday morning. He went ahead of the tunnelling machine to look for something and that is when the entire thing collapsed. In the melee, I didn’t realise that he got left behind,” said Sanjiv, breaking down. “He is related to me, but I couldn’t gather the courage to call my chacha.”Anuj is the eldest of three brothers and the sole breadwinner of his family, Sanjiv said.Some of the trapped workers’ families are calling their coworkers for news. “But we don’t have any information. Officials don’t share anything with us. What do we tell the families?” asked G Govind, a tunnel worker.Story continues below this adGovind, who also went inside the tunnel Saturday morning, said the experience would haunt him. “Some of us have not eaten since Saturday afternoon. The shout by the supervisors to run and the chaos after that as the tunnel went dark due to power supply disruption still haunts us. We are lucky we got out safely, but the thought of our brothers’ fate is eating away at us,” he said.Sanjiv spoke of the anger that some of the workers felt. “We risk our lives daily, but some of us have not been paid for three months. The company only recruits senior staff, like engineers. Workers like us are recruited through a private contractor… who has not paid us. The tunnel is shut now, and we don’t think work will start soon. How will we go home? We have no money,” Sanjiv said.Raj Kumar, who has been working on the project since 2019, said the workers’ colony, usually bustling with activity, was quiet on Sunday.“Usually, we greet each other, ask how the day was and what happened inside the tunnel. Workers returning from the shift call their family members, prepare food, sit around and talk just like family. Today, it is gloomy, we haven’t left our rooms all day,” he said.