While rescuers have managed to cover a large part of the tunnel Tuesday — 13.79 km of the 13.85 km — the last part has been challenging because of a mix of water and slush at the collapse site.

Telangana minister Uttam Kumar Reddy on Wednesday said the government has developed a comprehensive action plan, including exploring alternative access routes and deploying advanced machinery for dewatering,

In a significant development, a team of experts engaged in rescuing the eight workers who have remained trapped for the past five days in the partially collapsed SLBC tunnel were able to reach the end of the tunnel and return,