Seven workers killed, three missing after landslide floods hydropower tunnel in Uttarakhand

At least seven construction workers were killed and 13 others injured after a landslide drove water and debris into a tunnel belonging to the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Limited in Pipalkoti, Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, India, late on Thursday, according to officials. Three workers remain missing, and a rescue operation was continuing into Friday.

According to Deutsche Welle, 22 workers were inside the tunnel at the time of the incident. The tunnel is part of a state-run hydropower project.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami described the response as a 'war-like rescue operation' and stated that evacuating every worker safely was the top priority, according to Al Jazeera. Deutsche Welle reported that Dhami visited the site on Friday.

A multi-agency effort is underway, involving teams from the National Disaster Response Force, the State Disaster Response Force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, and fire services, according to Deutsche Welle.

The commander of the National Disaster Response Force team, Amrit Lal Meena, said rescue workers found significant water inside the tunnel with water also seeping from the sides, and that the water level had risen considerably since operations began, according to Al Jazeera.

Videos shared by local authorities showed rescue workers using head-mounted torches and makeshift rafts to reach the flooded section of the tunnel, as reported by both outlets.

Uttarakhand has experienced heavy monsoon rains in recent days, both sources note.

According to Al Jazeera, last month 20 people working on another state-run hydroelectric project were killed in a tunnel in the northeastern state of Sikkim. In 2023, 41 workers were rescued after being trapped for 17 days in a tunnel collapse in Uttarakhand.

According to Al Jazeera, hundreds of people have been killed in floods and landslides across India since the annual monsoon season began in June. Experts cited by Al Jazeera link increasing frequency and severity of such disasters to climate change combined with poorly planned development, while ecologists note that excessive development projects have contributed to disasters in fragile Himalayan areas.

• The identities and nationalities of the seven workers killed and the three missing have not been established by either source.
• The precise total number of workers who were in the tunnel is confirmed only by Deutsche Welle; Al Jazeera does not report this figure.
• The current condition or prognosis of the 13 injured workers is not detailed beyond the statement that they are undergoing treatment.
• No statement or response from the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Limited (THDC), the project operator, appears in either source.
• The cause or contributing factors specific to this tunnel's vulnerability to the landslide have not been examined by either source.
• The timeline of how the rescue operation progressed overnight is not fully established.

1. Al Jazeera English — original
2. Deutsche Welle — by Dharvi Vaid Dhulia

Read the original at Al Jazeera English

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