At least 12 workers were killed and 13 others remained trapped for over 24 hours after an under-construction tunnel collapsed in Sikkim’s Namchi district following an explosion of suspected methane gas, officials said on Tuesday, adding the toll may increase.
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Meanwhile, members of a mining safety team from neighbouring West Bengal that joined the rescue operation on Tuesday, claimed to having spotted eight more bodies inside the tunnel. The Namchi district administration, however, could not verify the claims till the time of going to press.
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A total of 25 workers had been trapped inside the collapsed tunnel of the NHPC Teesta Stage VI Hydropower Project at Samardung in South Sikkim shortly after 1 pm on Monday.
“In all 12 bodies have been recovered till 7pm on Tuesday and 13 are still missing,” Namchi district collector Anupa Tamling said. “We will carry out the rescue operation until late night and will resume it early Wednesday morning. Seven of the bodies recovered have been identified.”
The deceased included migrant workers from West Bengal, Punjab, Assam and Uttarakhand, the senior official said.
Government announces compensation, probe
Sikkim chief minister Prem Singh Tamang, who visited the incident site along with Governor Om Prakash Mathur on Tuesday, announced an ex-gratia of ₹4 lakh each to the kin of those killed and ₹50,000 to each injured.
“A high-level committee will be constituted to investigate the matter,” the CM told reporters.
A special mining rescue team from neighbouring West Bengal has arrived at the site to assist in the ongoing search operations for the workers trapped inside the tunnel, the CM added.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah spoke to Tamang, took stock of the situation and assured him of all help from the Centre. The PM also announced ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and ₹50,000 each to the injured.
The Sikkim legislative assembly observed a two-minute silence to mourn the death of workers in the tunnel collapse.
Methane explosion suspected
The incident occurred at Adit 3 of the tunnel — at least 1.5 km from the mouth of the tunnel — which is part of the 500 MW hydel project of NHPC Ltd.
In a statement, NHPC said a sudden burst of suspected methane gas trapped/embedded inside the rocks led to the explosion, generating dense fumes and toxic gases.
“The explosion was triggered by a possible methane gas leak. The methane gas was probably trapped in a pocket in the rock which was being drilled by the tunnel boring machine. When the machine hit that pocket the gas leaked and triggered the explosion,” said an NHPC official, requesting anonymity.
Rescue operation
Meanwhile, a mining safety team from Eastern Coalfields Limited in West Bengal joined the rescue operation on Tuesday with safety gear and high-teach equipment.
Talking to reporters, members of the ECL rescue team claimed they have spotted at least eight more bodies inside the tunnel, indicating the toll may have increased to 20. The tunnel is full of mud, making it difficult to recover the bodies, they added.
“Some of the rescuers who went inside the tunnel on Monday fell ill. Later the presence of carbon monoxide was detected inside the tunnel. This hampered the rescue operations to some extent,” said the NHPC official.
“The presence of carbon monoxide is almost conclusive evidence that there was methane explosion in the tunnel. The burn injuries on the victims and the presence of carbon monoxide point to the fact that there was methane which triggered the explosion.”
Sikkim inspector general of police (law and order) Tashi Wangyal, however, maintained that only 12 deaths have been confirmed in the incident. “Till Tuesday the death toll was 12,” the IGP said.
