A tunnel under construction for a hydroelectric power project in India's Uttarakhand state collapsed, resulting in at least seven workers dead and three still missing amid continuously rising water levels inside the tunnel.
A dramatic incident occurred in India when a tunnel under construction at the Vishnu-Kad-Pipalkoti hydroelectric project in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand state, northern India, collapsed late Thursday night after a large mass of water and debris surged into the tunnel.
Officials reported that at the time of the collapse, 22 workers were inside the tunnel. So far, 12 have been safely rescued, at least seven have died, and three remain missing.
After the collapse, rescue units from the National Disaster Response Force, state-level teams, Indo-Tibetan border police, and firefighters were deployed to the area to urgently search for workers still trapped inside.
However, the rescue mission is extremely challenging due to large volumes of water flooding the tunnel and continuous seepage from the tunnel walls, causing water levels to keep rising.
Amrit Lal Meena, commander of the National Disaster Response Force team, revealed that upon arrival at the site, rescuers found significant water inside the tunnel with ongoing seepage from multiple points. Rising water levels forced officials to race against time to reach the missing workers.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami stated that officials are continuing efforts to locate and rescue the three missing workers and are urgently assessing the tunnel conditions to ensure the search can proceed as safely as possible.
Major construction accidents are quite common in India, especially in the Himalayan mountain areas, which have fragile terrain, high geological activity, and unpredictable underground conditions. Rapid infrastructure expansion further increases the risk of construction accidents.
Previously, in 2023, a tunnel collapse in Uttarakhand trapped 41 workers underground for 17 days before they were all rescued.
In February this year, an explosion at a coal mine in Meghalaya state, adjacent to Uttarakhand, killed at least 18 workers.
Source:channelnewsasia
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