Sikkim tunnel collapse: 22 bodies recovered, search on for 3 more workers

Rescue teams have recovered bodies of 22 workers from the collapsed NHPC Teesta Stage VI hydropower project tunnel in Sikkim's Namchi district, while efforts continue to locate the remaining labourers

The bodies of 22 workers have been retrieved from the NHPC hydropower project tunnel under construction in Sikkim's Namchi district, officials said on Thursday.

Twenty-five workers were inside the under-construction NHPC Teesta Stage VI Hydropower Project tunnel, which collapsed following an explosion suspected to have been caused by methane gas shortly after 1 pm on Monday.

Rescue operations remain in progress, with specialised teams working in close coordination to locate and recover the remaining labourers, a state government official said.

"The Sikkim government, district administration, and all concerned agencies continue to closely monitor the situation, while extending every possible support to the rescue teams and the affected families," he said.

"Out of the 25 trapped inside the tunnel, 20 are confirmed dead," Namchi SP Sonam D Bhutia had said on Tuesday.

Eight bodies have been identified till Wednesday. Of them, four are from Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal while one each from Punjab, Uttarakhand, Assam and Sikkim.

At least four workers from Jharkhand's Khunti, Hazaribag and West Singhbhum districts were engaged there, another official said.

The NHPC on Wednesday announced an ex gratia of ₹5 lakh for the next of kin of each person who died in the accident.

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Tuesday announced ₹4 lakh ex gratia for the next of kin of each of those workers who died in the accident, and ₹50,000 for every injured person.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh for each of the next of kin of the deceased, and ₹50,000 each to the injured persons.

According to an NHPC statement, a sudden burst of suspected methane gas trapped/embedded inside the rocks led to the explosion, generating dense fumes and toxic gases in the tunnel.