Sikkim tunnel tragedy: Bodies of all 25 NHPC workers' recovered after 72 hours
Rescue teams recovered all 25 bodies from a collapsed NHPC tunnel in Sikkim after 72 hours. The suspected methane blast has prompted compensation announcements and renewed focus on tunnel safety.
The bodies of all 25 workers trapped in an under-construction NHPC hydropower project tunnel in Sikkim have been recovered, officials said on Thursday, bringing to an end 72 hours of continuous search operations.
The labourers were inside the tunnel of the NHPC Teesta Stage VI Hydropower Project in Namchi district when it collapsed shortly after 1 pm on Monday following an explosion suspected to have been caused by methane gas. The state government said it was closely monitoring the situation and extending support to the affected families, while NHPC, the Sikkim government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced ex-gratia payments for the dead and injured.
"All the bodies have now been recovered after 72 hours of continuous search operations," KK Roy, a member of the rescue team from Eastern Coalfield Ltd, told reporters. According to an NHPC statement, a sudden burst of suspected methane gas trapped inside the rocks led to the explosion, generating dense fumes and toxic gases in the tunnel.
Eight bodies had been identified till Wednesday. Of them, four were from Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, while one each was from Punjab, Uttarakhand, Assam and Sikkim. At least four workers from Jharkhand's Khunti, Hazaribagh and West Singhbhum districts were engaged at the site, another official said.
"The Sikkim government, district administration, and all concerned agencies continue to closely monitor the situation, while extending every possible support to the affected families," a state government official said.
NHPC on Wednesday announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the next of kin of each person who died in the accident. Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang had on Tuesday announced Rs 4 lakh for the next of kin of each of the workers who died and Rs 50,000 for every injured person.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased worker and Rs 50,000 each for the injured, as the recovery of all 25 bodies marked the end of the rescue operation.