Gangtok:
Asphyxiation and burn injuries could be the reason for the death of the labourers who were working in a tunnel under construction, which collapsed two days ago in Sikkim’s Namchi district, indicated the postmortem report of one of the victims.
The body of one more worker was recovered from the NHPC Teesta Stage VI Hydropower Project tunnel on Wednesday during search operations, taking the number of bodies retrieved so far to 13, officials said.
Twenty-five workers were inside the tunnel which collapsed following an explosion suspected to have been caused by methane gas shortly after 1 pm on Monday.
“Out of those 25 trapped inside the tunnel, 20 are confirmed dead,” Namchi Superintendent of Police (SP) Sonam D Bhutia said on July 21.
The postmortem report of one of the victims revealed that asphyxiation was the cause of the death, a medical officer of the STNM Hospital here said.
“The asphyxiation could be due to methane gas which spreads quickly and does not give a chance to survive beyond 2-3 minutes,” Additional Medical Superintendent (AMS) Dr Suresh Madan Rasaily said.
There were some wounds as well as burn injuries on the body, he said.
While wounds could have been caused by the rubble of falling debris, the burns might be the result of the explosion.
The senior medical officer said that four bodies were brought to STNM Hospital for postmortem and identification.
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.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday announced in the assembly that Rs 5 lakh compensation for the family of the victim belonging to the state.
Efforts are on to establish the identity of the remaining bodies. Rasaily said that if required, DNA tests will be conducted to identify the bodies.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday urged his Sikkim counterpart Prem Singh Tamang to ensure all possible support to affected workers from Jharkhand, who were engaged in tunnel construction work in the Himalayan state.
At least four workers from Jharkhand’s Khunti, Hazaribag and West Singhbhum districts were engaged there.
Earlier in the day, search and rescue operations resumed after being temporarily suspended due to the accumulation of mud and water inside the tunnel, officials said.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and a team from West Bengal’s Asansol resumed operations early in the day, with efforts focused on pumping water out of the tunnel, they said.
Meanwhile, the NHPC on Wednesday announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the family of each person who died in the accident.
Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Tuesday announced Rs 4 lakh ex gratia for the family of each of those workers who died in the accident and Rs 50,000 for every injured person.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh for each of the family of the victim and Rs 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.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
