Guwahati:
A body has been recovered from a tunnel construction site after a landslide damaged it and led to a gas leak in Sikkim, officials said. Several people are feared trapped, they said. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are at the site carrying out rescue and search operations.
The incident happened in South Sikkim’s Samardung tunnel at 3.09 pm on Monday. Patel Engineering is constructing a section of the Teesta Stage VI Hydroelectric Project here.
According to preliminary information, a landslide inside the tunnel blocked the passage and trapped several workers. Rescue efforts were further complicated by a suspected methane gas leak, making it unsafe for personnel to reach the affected section.
Along with the NDRF, teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Sikkim Police and fire and emergency Services have been deployed to the site. Authorities have also regulated traffic movement in the area to facilitate the rescue operation.
Namchi district collector Anupa Tamling said the district administration alerted the rescue teams from Siliguri and Pakyong, along with the SDRF, immediately after receiving information about the incident.
“The incident took place at around 3.09 pm. Fire and emergency services personnel and police officials attempted twice to enter the tunnel without protective gear, but were forced to return because of the hazardous conditions,” she said.
Tamling said the first NDRF team that entered the tunnel had to evacuate the fire and emergency services personnel who had made the initial rescue attempt. A second NDRF team later entered the tunnel, and rescue operations are continuing.
Officials said methane levels inside the tunnel remain so high that rescuers have been unable to reach the location where the trapped workers are believed to be. The authorities are yet to determine the exact cause of the landslide.
“As of now, we are unable to understand the reason behind the landslide. According to workers who managed to come out, they heard a huge blast-like sound from inside the tunnel and immediately ran out. There are workers who remain trapped inside,” Tamling said.
She cautioned that the number of people trapped is still provisional.
“So far, around 19 workers are believed to have been trapped initially. Subsequently, three personnel from Patel Engineering entered the tunnel to carry out rescue operations, but two of them also became trapped, taking the total from Patel Engineering to 21. In addition, six personnel from NHPC are also believed to be inside, bringing the estimated number to 27. The actual figure could be more or less. Until the NDRF reaches the exact location where the workers are trapped, we cannot confirm the situation inside,” she said.
Tamling said the administration’s immediate priority was to safely evacuate everyone trapped inside.
Sources said members of an initial rescue team experienced dizziness and breathing difficulties after being exposed to methane while attempting to enter the tunnel. They were brought out safely and shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment.
(With inputs from Pankaj Dhungel)
