SEVEN KILLED IN TUNNEL COLLAPSE AT INDIAN HYDROPOWER PROJECT

At least seven workers have been killed and 13 others injured after a tunnel collapsed at a construction site in Uttarakhand, a northern Indian hill state, late on Thursday. Water and debris burst into the tunnel at the Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydroelectric project following a landslide, trapping construction workers inside. Of 22 people working in the tunnel, 12 have been rescued alive, according to Pushkar Singh Dhami, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. India's State Disaster Management Authority said three workers remain missing. Rescue teams from the National Disaster Response Force, state Disaster Response Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and fire services are conducting operations to locate the missing workers.

Amrit Lal Meena, commander of the National Disaster Response Force team, described challenging conditions at the site. "When our team reached the site and started the operation, there was a lot of water inside the tunnel and water was also seeping from the sides. Since then, the water level has increased considerably," he said. The region has been affected by heavy monsoon rains in recent days. Uttarakhand has experienced multiple construction accidents; last month, 20 workers were killed in a tunnel collapse at another state-run hydroelectric project in the remote northeastern state of Sikkim. In 2023, 41 workers were rescued after being trapped for 17 days inside a collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand.

Experts attribute the frequency of such disasters to climate change coupled with poorly planned development in the fragile Himalayan region. Dhami said that "evacuating every worker safely is our top priority" as the rescue operation continued. Hundreds of people have been killed across India in floods and landslides since the annual monsoon season began in June.