Seven people died and 14 were injured after a tunnel at the Pipalkoti hydroelectric project in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district was flooded with water and debris. The incident, which occurred at a THDC project managed by HCC, trapped 22 workers. Rescue efforts are actively underway involving various disaster response agencies

Seven people died and 14 were injured after a tunnel at the Pipalkoti hydroelectric project in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district was flooded with water and debris. The incident, which occurred at a THDC project managed by HCC, trapped 22 workers. Rescue efforts are actively underway involving various disaster response agencies

Seven people died and 14 were injured after a tunnel at the Pipalkoti hydroelectric project in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district was flooded with water and debris. The incident, which occurred at a THDC project managed by HCC, trapped 22 workers. Rescue efforts are actively underway involving various disaster response agencies

Seven people died and 14 others were injured on Thursday after water and debris flooded a tunnel being built at a hydroelectric project site in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, officials have confirmed.

According to early reports shared by officials, 22 workers were trapped when the incident happened of the 28 who were on duty. So far, 21 people have been accounted for. Of those brought out, seven were declared dead, while the injured are being treated in a nearby hospital.

Search is on for the remaining workers.

The incident took place at the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC) Limited's project in the Pipalkoti area. The construction work is being managed by the Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), officials said.

“Several workers were trapped after water and debris entered the tunnel of the Pipalkoti hydroelectric project,” Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan told PTI.

Police, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), and other agencies quickly rushed to the scene.

A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team from Rudraprayag was also on its way to Pipalkoti to join the rescue effort. Teams from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the Army were also deployed. District Magistrate (DM) Gaurav Kumar arrived at the site and was overseeing the entire operation, officials stated.

In a post on X, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed his concern over the incident and directed all agencies to conduct relief and rescue operations on a “war footing”.

Vinod Kumar Suman, secretary of the Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Department, said the situation is being closely monitored from emergency operation centres, and that additional teams will be deployed if needed.

The incident comes less than a month after 25 workers were killed in an under-construction tunnel in Sikkim after a portion of it collapsed following methane gas explosion. This tunnel was built to carry water from Teesta River to a hydropower plant's turbines.

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