Namchi, July 23: Rescue teams in Sikkim’s Namchi district have retrieved the bodies of all 25 workers trapped inside an under-construction hydropower project tunnel following a 72-hour continuous search operation. The fatal collapse occurred shortly after 1 p.m. on Monday inside the NHPC Teesta Stage VI Hydropower Project, triggered by a sudden explosion suspected to have been caused by trapped methane gas.
Emergency personnel navigated dense fumes and toxic atmosphere inside the rock passage to complete the recovery efforts.
“All the bodies have now been recovered after 72 hours of continuous search operations,” declared KK Roy, a member of the rescue team from Eastern Coalfield Ltd.
State officials noted that the deceased hailed from multiple states, including West Bengal, Jharkhand, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Assam, and Sikkim. Local authorities confirmed that administrative teams are coordinating relief measures for the victims’ families.
“The Sikkim Government, district administration, and all concerned agencies continue to closely monitor the situation, while extending every possible support to the affected families,” asserted a state government official.
Financial assistance packages have been declared by central and state authorities alongside the project operator. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex gratia of 2 lakh rupees for the next of kin of each deceased worker and 50,000 rupees for the injured. Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang announced 4 lakh rupees for the families of the deceased and 50,000 rupees for each injured individual, while NHPC pledged an additional 5 lakh rupees per victim’s family.
According to an official statement from NHPC, a sudden release of methane gas embedded within the rock formations led to the blast, generating dense toxic fumes throughout the underground shaft.
