Tunnel accident in northern India leaves at least seven workers dead

At least seven workers have been killed and 13 others injured after a tunnel accident at a construction site in northern India, according to local officials.

Water and debris burst into the tunnel, part of a state-run hydropower project in India’s northern hill state of Uttarakhand, late on Thursday following a landslide, trapping the construction workers.

Chief Minister of Uttarakhand state Pushkar Singh Dhami said a “war-like rescue operation” was under way to pull out workers still stuck in the tunnel.

India’s State Disaster Management Authority said three workers remain missing.

“Evacuating every worker safely is our top priority,” Dhami said in a social media post.

Videos shared by local authorities showed rescue workers equipped with head-mounted torches using makeshift rafts to reach the flooded section of the tunnel.

“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,” said Amrit Lal Meena, commander of the National Disaster Response Force team.

Uttarakhand has been battered by heavy monsoon rains in recent days.

Accidents on large construction sites are common in India, but ecologists say excessive development projects have led to more disasters in the fragile Himalayan areas.

Last month, 20 people working in a tunnel for another state-run hydroelectric project were killed in the remote northeastern state of Sikkim.

In 2023, 41 workers were rescued after being trapped for 17 days inside a tunnel that collapsed in Uttarakhand.

Hundreds of people have been killed in floods and landslides across the country since the start of the annual monsoon season in June.

Experts say climate change, coupled with poorly planned development, is increasing the frequency, severity and impact of such disasters.