A tunnel under construction at the Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydroelectric project in Chamoli district, located in Uttarakhand state in northern India, experienced a sudden collapse when a rush of water and debris entered the passage late Thursday night. The incident occurred while 22 workers were inside the tunnel, according to district officials.
Emergency response teams from multiple agencies, including the National Disaster Response Force, state Disaster Response Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, and fire services, were deployed to conduct rescue operations. Of the 22 workers present during the collapse, 12 have been rescued alive as of Friday. Three workers remain unaccounted for, while at least seven have been confirmed dead.
Rescuers face significant challenges in their search efforts, with water levels rising inside the tunnel and additional water seeping through the tunnel walls, according to the commander of the National Disaster Response Force team. The combination of structural damage and inflowing water has complicated the rescue operation.
Construction accidents involving infrastructure projects occur regularly in India, often resulting from rapid development efforts that encounter difficult geological conditions, lapses in construction practices, severe weather events, and inconsistent safety enforcement. The Himalayan region presents particularly hazardous conditions for tunnel construction due to unstable mountain terrain, seismic activity, and unpredictable subsurface conditions. A similar incident in the region occurred in 2023, when a tunnel collapse in northern Uttarakhand trapped 41 workers for 17 days before successful rescue efforts freed them.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI