At least 21 people lost their lives when a truck carrying 22 road construction workers from Assam’s Tinsukia district skidded off a dangerous mountain track in Arunachal Pradesh’s remote Anjaw district and fell into a nearly 700-feet deep gorge, officials confirmed on Thursday.
The accident occurred around 8-9 pm on December 8 on the dangerous Heuliang-Chaglagam road—a crucial India-China border road known for narrow lanes, dangerous turns and deep gorges. Gelpukhuri tea garden workers had left Tinsukia on December 7 for concrete slabbing work at a high altitude site near Chagalagam, 11-12 km from the accident site. Eyewitness accounts and initial investigation suggest that the vehicle lost control on a steep slope, perhaps due to speeding or slippery roads, and fell into a ditch.
One worker fortunately escaped the horrific accident with serious injuries, crawled to safety and informed authorities on December 10, after his colleagues reported the incident at the Heuliang police station. Local villagers began the initial rescue operation, going deep into the ravine where the broken truck and victims lay scattered on the rocks. By the afternoon of 11 December, teams from multiple agencies including Anjaw police, army personnel, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), district administration and medical units had recovered 14–17 bodies, while 5–7 were still missing, with the search continuing but hampered by difficult access to the site and inclement weather.
Anjaw Superintendent of Police Anurag Dwivedi and Deputy Commissioner Milo Kozin coordinated the operation, and interrogated a concerned sub-contractor to confirm the identity. The border region’s remote terrain—known for landslides and isolation—regularly poses a threat to such migrant workers, highlighting the dangers of infrastructure development on Arunachal’s eastern fringes.
Authorities have begun investigating possible causes such as road quality or driver error, and have promised comprehensive assistance to bereaved families, including ex-gratia money and arrangements to transport bodies. This tragic incident again raises the demand for better safety protocols on the border highways.
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