Uttarakhand: Six workers killed after water, debris enters tunnel being constructed in Chamoli

Six workers were killed on Thursday after water and debris entered a tunnel being constructed at a hydroelectric project site in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, reported PTI.

Sixteen workers were rescued, said Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in a social media post. Twenty-two workers had been trapped inside the tunnel of the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation-owned Vishnugad-Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Project.

The tunnel was being constructed by the Hindustan Construction Company.

The incident was reported around 7.05 pm, The Hindu quoted the State Disaster Response Force as saying. Soon after, teams from the Indian Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, National Disaster Response Force and SDRF started a rescue operation at the spot. The police and the Central Industrial Security Force were also involved.

Additional teams would be deployed if needed, PTI quoted Vinod Kumar Suman, secretary of the Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Department, as saying.

Chamoli has been receiving heavy rainfall over the past several days.

On Monday, a bridge in the Niti Valley was swept away amid strong river currents due to rising water levels, The Hindu reported.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.
...

Read more