At least 27 people were trapped inside an under-construction tunnel of the Teesta hydroelectric project in Sikkim on Monday when the site was hit by landslides, officials said, adding that initially 43 workers were inside the tunnel, but 16 of them managed to come out safely.
The incident took place around 3.40 pm at Samardung in Namchi district.
“Nothing certain is known about the condition of the workers trapped inside. Three back-to-back rescue attempts have failed,” Anupa Tamling, the district collector, said.
According to Sikkim government officials, the tunnel is a part of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation’s (NHPC) Teesta Stage VI hydroelectric power project. Tamling said according to reports received by the district administration, 19 workers of a private company, Patel Engineering LTD, and six workers of the NHPC were at the site hit by the landslide. Of the three workers who first went to rescue them, two couldn’t come out.
Sonam Doma Bhutia, the superintendent of Namchi district police, said, “Three rescue attempts were made. But they failed mainly because of bad weather and terrain conditions.”
A press release issued by the Sikkim government in the afternoon said all 16 people trapped inside the tunnel were rescued but the authorities soon realised that more people were at the work site.
Explaining the press release later, Tamling said there was a miscommunication between various departments.
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