Two killed as wall of under construction tunnel collapses

Two labourers died and 14 others were injured after the wall of an under construction tunnel being built for an irrigation project caved in on them in Nagarkurnool district of Telangana today, police said.

The mishap occurred when a group of 16 labourers were engaged in preparatory works on the tunnel by taking up blasting works using explosive materials.

According to a senior police official, it is suspected that lightning suddenly struck the explosive materials triggering a blast following which a part of the tunnel wall collapsed killing two workers and injuring the others.

The injured have been shifted to different hospitals at Nagarkurnool and Hyderabad, he told PTI over phone.

The workers hail from Jharkhand and Odisha and were engaged in taking up works for the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy lift irrigation scheme, the officer added.