PIONEEREDGE NEWS SERVICE | Bageshwar
A total of 19 workers were trapped in a tunnel for hours on Sunday after landslide debris and boulders blocked the mouth of the tunnel of NHPC power station on the Dhauliganga
at Elagad in the Dharchula area of Pithoragarh district. After the initial rescue of eight workers, the remaining 11 were also also rescued by the evening, district magistrate Vinod Goswami informed.
Heavy rain during the previous night is believed to have caused the landslide. The DM said that teams of the district administration, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Border Roads Organisation (BRO) began a rescue operation on war footing. Debris was cleared from the mouth of the tunnel while efforts were also undertaken to clear the emergency shaft area.
The authorities first rescued eight of the men while efforts involving BRO, NHPC, SDRF, CISF and other personnel continued efforts to rescue the remaining 11. The trapped workers remained in contact with the rescuers. Goswami informed that finally all the 19 men were rescued from the tunnel. All the officials and workers are safey, he said, while adding that landslide incidents are being constantly monitored in the area with necessary steps also being taken for safety.
Meanwhile, the Dharchula sub divisional magistrate Jitendra Verma said that the power house did not sustain any major damage.
