DEHRADUN: Six workers have died and two reported missing after a landslide caused a cavity to form in an under-construction THDC tunnel at Mayapur in Pipalkoti area of Chamoli district, causing a rush of water and debris to enter the tunnel on Thursday evening. Of the 22 workers stranded inside the tunnel, 14 were rescued, while search and rescue operations were underway for the two missing workers when this report was filed late Thursday night.The incident was reported around 7.05pm in the 2km-long Tail Race Tunnel, where construction work was being carried out by Hindustan Construction Company (HCC).“There were 22 people inside the tunnel when a mix of slush and water entered it, trapping the workers inside. They were on the 2pm to 10pm shift. Of the total, 14 were rescued, while six have died and two are still missing,” an official, privacy to the development, confirmed to TOI.The cavity had formed around 1.4km inside the tunnel, through which water and debris entered. “Pumps have been deployed to flush out the water,” a senior THDC officer said, adding that the cavity was likely caused by a landslide above the tunnel alignment.Soon after the incident was reported, personnel from the District Incident Response Force, local police and Central Industrial Security Force launched search and rescue operations. Given the seriousness of the incident, teams of the Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force were also deployed.
