Seven workers have died and 11 others were injured after water and debris entered an under-construction tunnel at a hydroelectric project site in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand on Thursday. The search for six missing workers is continuing, officials said.
According to initial reports, a total of 22 workers were trapped inside the tunnel at the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC) project in the Pipalkoti area. Twenty-two have since been rescued, with seven confirmed dead and 11 injured. The injured workers are undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital.
The project construction is being carried out by the Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), officials said.
Rescue Teams Step Up Operation
Police, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)
and other agencies rushed to the site after the incident. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police and Army were also deployed to assist in the operation.
NDRF Inspector Amrit Lal Meena said the tunnel was heavily flooded, with water reaching chest level. Rescue personnel entered the tunnel and recovered bodies that were submerged and not visible from the surface.
VIDEO | Uttarakhand: 22 rescued in the Chamoli district’s THDC tunnel incident; 7 dead and 11 injured. At least 6 remain missing as rescue operation continues.
Inspector, NDRF, Amrit Lal Meena says, “As soon as we received the information, our team reached the site and initiated… pic.twitter.com/6q23f0V5N6
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 13, 2026
“We waded through the water, and a few team members were equipped with specialised gear to carry out underwater operations. The four bodies were submerged and not visible from the surface so we went inside and recovered all four from the incident site,” Meena told the media.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami earlier expressed concern over the incident and directed agencies to carry out relief and rescue operations on a “war footing”.
Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Department Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said the situation was being continuously monitored from emergency operation centres and additional teams would be deployed if required.
(With inputs from PTI)
