At least seven people lost their lives and 13 others sustained injuries after water and debris entered an under-construction tunnel at a hydroelectric project site in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, said officials on Friday. The incident happened at the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Limited (THDC) in Pipalkoti on Thursday evening.
According to officials, water and debris suddenly entered the tunnel between 6.30 and 6.45 pm where the Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) was conducting the construction, leaving at least 22 people trapped after which a large rescue operation was launched that involved the police, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), and the local administration.
Later, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and teams of Indian Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) were also deployed.
Of the 22 people, 20 were rescued and taken to the district hospital. However, seven of them lost their lives.
"A total of 19 people were brought here from THDC; seven of them have been declared dead at the hospital, while 13 arrived in relatively stable condition. We have admitted 10 of them. One young man, whose condition was somewhat unstable, has been referred to the Base Hospital in Srinagar," news agency ANI quoted Dr Ayush as saying.
Officials have said three people are still trapped and a rescue operation remains underway for them and additional teams could be deployed if needed. District Magistrate (DM) Gaurav Kumar and NDRF's Amrit Lal Meena remain on the spot, supervising the rescue operation.
"After our team arrived and started the operation, there was a massive volume of water inside the tunnel. The water level has risen significantly since then..." Meena told ANI.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has expressed grief over the incident and said he has instructed all relevant agencies to ensure that the rescue operation is conducted on war-footing.
"I am in constant contact with the officials and continuously gathering updates on the situation. Our topmost priority is to safely evacuate every person trapped inside the tunnel," the chief minister said in a post on X (previously Twitter) in Hindi on Thursday evening.
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