Rescue operations continued through the night and into Friday morning at an under-construction tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, with three workers still trapped inside. Nineteen of the 22 workers who were initially reported trapped have been rescued.
Seven workers have died, while 12 injured workers are undergoing treatment, officials said.
Debris, water hamper rescue efforts
The incident occurred at Mayapur, where debris and water entered around 1.5 km of the three-kilometre-long tunnel being constructed as part of the Vishnugad-Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Project.
The workers were trapped after a landslide caused debris and water to enter the tunnel. The search for the remaining three workers has continued amid difficult conditions caused by the accumulation of debris and water inside the structure.
Six rescue workers who entered the tunnel to assist in the operation were also safely evacuated and are reported to be safe.
The seven workers who died have been identified as Pradeep Singh Pawar, 31, Mukesh from Uttarakhand, Durlabh Sharma from Bihar, Vijay, 28, Jitendra Kumar from Jharkhand, Lokeshwar and Bhuneshwar.
Multiple agencies deployed
Personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), police and other technical and specialist agencies have been deployed for the rescue operation.
District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar and other senior officials were monitoring the rescue and relief efforts at the site.
Kumar directed officials to make effective use of all available resources and technical assistance to reach the workers still inside the tunnel. The administration is also ensuring medical treatment and other necessary facilities for those injured in the incident.
CM Dhami visits rescue site
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami rushed to the site to take stock of the operation despite extremely bad weather. His helicopter could not land because of adverse weather conditions.
Dhami said the safe evacuation of the remaining workers was the government’s priority.
“The safe evacuation of every worker trapped inside the tunnel is the government’s top priority. All agencies involved in the operation have been directed to work on a war footing to rescue those still missing,” said Dhami.
Rescue teams continued their efforts on Friday as operations remained focused on locating and bringing out the three workers still trapped inside the tunnel.