India
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Sikkim tunnel collapse kills ten workers
Al Jazeera··22 Jul
At least 10 people died and 17 remain missing after a suspected gas explosion collapsed a tunnel under construction at an NHPC hydropower project in Sikkim's Samardung village on Monday The 500-megawatt project sits on the Teesta River near the Bhutan and Tibet border NDRF teams found toxic gases hampering rescue inside the tunnel NDRF teams found toxic gases hampering
Prism
What It Means For You
- Himalayan infrastructure projects affect border communities in Sikkim, where tunnel work carries higher geological and gas risks.
- Families of missing workers await rescue updates as toxic gases complicate operations inside the Teesta basin site.
- Past Uttarakhand tunnel disasters showed rescue can take days when workers are trapped deep underground.
What's Happening
- At least 10 workers died and 17 remain missing after a suspected gas explosion collapsed a tunnel at Samardung village in Sikkim.
- The blast occurred Monday at NHPC's 500-megawatt hydropower project on the Teesta River near the Bhutan and Tibet border.
- NDRF teams found methane, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulphide inside, hampering search efforts with specialised breathing equipment.
Last Time This Happened
- NHPC said methane trapped in Himalayan rock likely caused the blast; six NHPC officials entering to help were also trapped.
- In 2023, 41 workers were rescued after 17 days trapped in a collapsed Uttarakhand tunnel under similar Himalayan conditions.
- Experts told AP the Teesta basin lies in a seismically active zone with fractured rock that can accumulate explosive gases.
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