Labourer dies after falling from ceiling of Rohtang tunnel in Himachal Pradesh

A 46-year-old labourer from Bihar was killed after accidentally falling from the ceiling of the Rohtang tunnel on the Leh-Manali highway, the police said on Thursday.

The labourer identified as Mjahir was working as a carpenter in the 8.8-km-long tunnel being built under the Rohtang Pass in the eastern Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas, Kullu Superintendent of Police Gaurav Singh said.

This is the second death within three weeks of labourers working in the Rohtang tunnel. Earlier on November 16, a labourer, identified as Navneet Parmar of Shiva village in Sirmour district, was crushed under a hydra machine.

Mjahir was working on the ceiling of the tunnel's south portal at Dhundi around 3 pm on Wednesday. He lost balance and fell down, he added.

His colleagues took him to Mission Hospital Kullu at around 7.30 pm where the doctors declared him brought dead, the SP said.

As per the statement of his colleagues, he had sustained injuries behind the right ear after falling down while doing the ceiling work as a carpenter in Rohtang Tunnel Project at Dhundi.

The SP said that inquest proceedings under section 174 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) has been initiated.