Chamoli (Uttarakhand): Tragedy has struck Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district again.
Three days after strong currents swept away a metal bridge in the Niti Valley region, water and debris entered an under-construction tunnel on Thursday evening.
Sixteen workers were rescued but at least six more are feared trapped. A high-level rescue operation is underway at the project site of Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Ltd (THDC) in Chamoli’s Pipalkoti area.
According to officials, 22 workers were inside the tunnel when a sudden influx of water and debris trapped those on shift.
“This is a tunnel under construction for a hydropower project. Around 6.30 pm, a significant amount of debris and water surged into the tunnel. Workers from the shift on duty at the time were trapped,” said Chamoli police chief Surjeet Singh Pawar.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered rescue and relief operations to be taken up on a war footing. Senior officers are providing regular real-time updates to the CM.
#WATCH | Uttarakhand: Following reports of water and debris entering the under-construction THDC tunnel at Mayapur (Pipalkoti), the district administration is fully on alert. District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar reached the spot immediately after receiving information about the… pic.twitter.com/bZ2SNltOeE
— ANI (@ANI) August 13, 2026
Teams from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) along with police and local people are searching for the trapped workers.
Heavy rains over the last few days have wreaked havoc in the hilly state, leading to landslides and flooding due to rising water levels in rivers.