At least eight people have been killed and 19 others feared trapped after landslides hit an under-construction tunnel for the Teesta hydropower project amid heavy rains at Samardong in Namchi district of Sikkim state.
“We have recovered eight bodies and there are still fears that 19 people may be trapped inside the tunnel. Rescue operations have continued throughout the tunnel. [Monday] The bodies were not recovered until the early hours of the night [of Tuesday]. “As the rain continues, rescue operations are hampered,” Superintendent of Police Sonam Duma Bhutia said. He added that three rescue attempts initially failed due to bad weather conditions and terrain.
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The rescue operation continues
Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang-Golay said teams from the district administration, police, state disaster response force, fire and emergency services, national disaster response force and other specialized agencies are working at the site. He added that he is closely following rescue operations.
People familiar with the matter said that the workers were trapped at least three kilometers inside the tunnel, and rescue operations were still continuing despite the rain and stormy weather.
The workers are trapped inside the tunnel
District Collector Anupa Tamling said on Monday that nothing certain was known about the condition of the workers trapped inside. “Three successive rescue attempts have failed.”
Tamling said 19 workers from a private company and six from the National Hydropower Company were at the site when the landslides occurred. Of the three workers who first went to rescue them, two were unable to get out. The tunnel is part of NHPC’s Teesta Stage VI hydropower project.
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The Sikkim government said on Monday that all 16 people trapped in the tunnel had been rescued, even as more people were at the site. Tamling said this was the result of miscommunication between departments.
Sikkim government officials said late in the evening that at least 27 people working inside the tunnel under construction at Samardong in Namche district were trapped on Monday when the site was hit by landslides. Officials added that at least 16 workers were able to get out alive after the accident.
The Prime Minister expresses his condolences
Prem Singh Tamang-Golay, Chief Minister of Sikkim, expressed his condolences, adding that he was closely monitoring the rescue operations on Tuesday morning.
“I am deeply saddened by the tragic accident that occurred in the tunnel under construction for the NHPC Teesta Stage VI hydropower project in Samardong, Jolongi, Namchi District. I extend my sincere condolences to the families of the workers who lost their lives,” he wrote.
“I am closely monitoring the ongoing rescue operations. Teams from the District Administration, SSDMA, Sikkim Police, SDRF, Fire and Emergency Services, Pakyong and Siliguri NDRF, and other specialized agencies are working tirelessly to evacuate the bodies of the remaining workers trapped inside the tunnel,” Gulay wrote on Facebook.
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According to Sikkim government officials, the tunnel is part of the Teesta Phase VI hydropower project of the National Hydropower Corporation (NHPC).
Tamling said that according to reports received by the district administration, 19 workers from Patel Private Engineering Company and six workers from NHPC were at the site hit by the landslide.
