New Delhi. The body of one of the three workers missing in the Vishnugad-Pipalkoti Tunnel accident under construction in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand has been found today while the search for the other two is still going on. The rescue team is facing a lot of problems due to the tunnel being filled with water. On Thursday evening, debris and water had entered the tunnel due to landslide leakage. Due to which this accident happened. At the time of the incident, 22 laborers were working there. In which bodies of 7 laborers were recovered earlier. 12 laborers are undergoing treatment in the hospital. After the incident, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami himself reached the spot and took stock. After this, he also went to the hospital and met the injured.
Ajay Verma, Executive Director of Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC) India Limited, said that where this leak has occurred in the tunnel and so much water has come, it was a natural cavity there and it is the rainy season due to which there is water filled there. The water has filled up so much that it has leaked from the weak spot it found. Most of it is water and less debris. In the history of hydro-tunnel projects, such a huge flow of water, which can fill a tunnel up to 1.2 kilometers long, has never been seen before. This level of leakage is very unusual and unexpected, it is a matter of investigation. A complete investigation will be conducted.
Director Verma said, we have managed to reduce the water level by about 1.5 meters. We are continuously increasing the number of operational pumps. To run these pumps, it is necessary to lay pipelines and ensure electricity supply, we are doing all these works together. The workers were primarily hired by a small contractor working for HCC. Our effort is to pump out all the water today and complete this operation by tomorrow i.e. Sunday.