Uttarakhand: 7 dead in tunnel tragedy in Chamoli; search on for 3 missing

Seven workers have died and three remain missing after a sudden surge of water and debris inundated an under-construction tunnel at a hydroelectric project in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, triggering a frantic multi-agency rescue operation.

The tragedy struck at Mayapur near Pipalkoti on Thursday when landslides and ground subsidence sent torrents of water and rubble into the tunnel, trapping workers inside. District disaster management officer N.K. Joshi said 22 people were inside the tunnel when the incident occurred. Nineteen were rescued overnight, but seven later succumbed to their injuries, while three workers are still unaccounted for.

The deceased have been identified as Pradeep Singh Pawar of Tehri, Mukesh of Chamoli, Durlabh Sharma of Bihar, Vijay Hansda and Jitendra Kumar of Jharkhand, and Lokeshwar and Bhuneshwar, whose native places have not yet been established.

The three missing workers have been identified as Lucas Topno of Jharkhand and Chetan Poyam and Devnath of Chhattisgarh.

The rescue effort has continued despite the treacherous conditions inside the tunnel, where water remains trapped. Six rescuers have entered the flooded structure as teams race against time to locate the missing workers.

Personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Uttarakhand Police are working together in the operation. Rising water levels and unstable debris have complicated efforts to reach deeper sections of the tunnel.

The injured workers are receiving treatment at nearby hospitals. Ten are being treated at the District Hospital in Gopeshwar, one has been admitted to the Base Hospital in Srinagar and another was discharged after receiving treatment.

Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached Pipalkoti by helicopter to take stock of the rescue operation. District magistrate Gaurav Kumar, who was present at the site, directed officials to mobilise every available resource to locate the missing workers.

The tunnel forms part of the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation’s Vishnugad-Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Project, a major hydropower project in the mountainous region.

The latest tragedy has once again cast a harsh light on the dangers faced by workers constructing large infrastructure projects in Uttarakhand’s fragile Himalayan terrain. The state has witnessed similar tunnel disasters in the past, most notably the collapse of the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel in Uttarkashi in November 2023, when 41 workers were trapped underground. All 41 were eventually rescued after a painstaking 17-day, multi-agency operation.

For the families waiting anxiously for news from Pipalkoti, however, the focus remains firmly on the dark, water-filled tunnel where rescuers are still searching for three missing workers.

With agency inputs