Chamoli Tunnel Tragedy: 7 Dead, 3 Missing as Rising Water Turns Rescue Into Race Against Time

Inside a 2.5-km tunnel in Uttarakhand's Chamoli, rescuers are fighting water, mud, darkness and time. Seven workers are dead. Twelve have been rescued alive. Three are still missing.

And the conditions inside the tunnel are getting harder. Nearly a day after debris and water rushed into an under-construction tunnel at THDC's Vishnugad-Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Project, rescue teams are continuing to search manually through a flooded stretch for the three missing workers.

The operation has become particularly difficult because parts of the tunnel are submerged under five to six feet of water, according to NDRF DIG Mohsen Shahedi. Water is continuing to flow in. Oxygen levels are low. Sludge has accumulated beneath the water. And persistent rainfall outside has increased the risk of landslides. “Of the 22 people involved, 12 have been rescued, and seven bodies have been recovered, while three remain missing,” Shahedi said.

900 metres of water and sludge

The scale of the challenge becomes clearer deeper inside the tunnel.

NDRF Assistant Commandant Alok Jayara said rescuers are searching an approximately 900-metre flooded section, with sludge underneath the water making it extremely difficult to move and see what lies ahead. Three NDRF teams are working in rotation as the search continues. Multiple agencies, including the NDRF, SDRF, DDRF, ITBP, CISF, state police and district administration, have joined the operation.

But this isn't simply a question of sending more people inside. Every movement has to be weighed against the conditions confronting the rescuers themselves. Water is still entering the tunnel. Visibility is poor. Oxygen is limited. The weather remains hostile. The rescuers are searching for three people while trying to ensure the tunnel does not claim more lives.

What happened inside the tunnel?

The accident occurred on Thursday evening at the Vishnugad-Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Project in Chamoli. Debris and water entered the under-construction tunnel, trapping 22 workers. Rescue agencies were mobilised soon afterwards. Twelve workers have since been brought out alive and are receiving medical treatment, while the bodies of seven others have been recovered. The remaining three have yet to be located. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said he was “deeply saddened” by the loss of lives and prayed for the safe rescue of those still missing.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the accident.

He has also announced compensation of ₹4 lakh each for the families of those who died and said action would be taken if the investigation finds negligence. “Every life is precious to us,” Dhami said. Badrinath MLA Lakhpat Butola has meanwhile questioned safety arrangements at the construction site and demanded higher compensation for the victims' families. Those questions will become increasingly important. How did so much water and debris enter an under-construction hydroelectric tunnel? Were adequate safety measures in place? Could the workers have been evacuated earlier? And was the disaster preventable? The inquiry will have to find those answers.

For now, however, everything is focused on one number. Three workers somewhere inside a flooded tunnel. And rescuers are still looking.

(With inputs from ANI)