A 21-year-old construction worker from Jharkhand was killed after a portion of the concrete lining collapsed inside the Silkiara-Barkot tunnel in Uttarkashi district during the early hours of Thursday, officials said.
Confirming the incident, Uttarkashi District Magistrate Prashant Arya said the accident occurred around 2 am, about 900 meters from the Barkot side portion of the 4.5 km tunnel.
“The fatal accident occurred when a heavy portion of the concrete lining of the tunnel broke and collapsed on the worker,” Arya said.
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He added that the worker was fatally injured after being struck by falling debris and died at the site.
No other workers were trapped in the collapse and the tunnel remains accessible, Arya said.
He added, “There are no other workers currently trapped under the rubble. But final details will not be available until the full investigation report is submitted.”
The district magistrate directed senior district officials, including district magistrate Barkot, to visit the site, assess the situation and submit a detailed report.
Meanwhile, the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) has launched an investigation into the accident to determine the exact cause of the structural failure. Officials said that conclusions will not be drawn until the realistic assessment is completed.
The Silkyara Tunnel attracted international attention in November 2023 when a major collapse inside the tunnel blocked a 60-metre-long stretch of the tunnel, trapping 41 workers inside for 17 days. The workers were eventually rescued in a complex multi-agency operation after miners who specialize in rat holes excavated the last bit of debris and hand-twisted steel to reach them.
