Chamoli tunnel death toll rises to eight, two still missing

The death toll from the tunnel collapse in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, has risen to eight, with search and rescue operations continuing for two missing workers, reports said on Sunday. The accident occurred on Thursday evening at the THDC's under-construction Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydroelectric project near Pipalkoti. A sudden surge of water and debris from a landslide-like event near the Birhi River trapped 22 workers who were on duty. Seven bodies were recovered on Friday, and an eighth was found on Saturday but declared dead at the hospital.

Rescue operations by the NDRF, SDRF, Army, and other agencies are ongoing, hampered by high water levels and sludge inside the tunnel. Uttarakhand Disaster Management Minister Madan Kaushik said teams have only penetrated a few hundred meters from the incident point. The three missing workers were identified as Lucas Topno from Jharkhand and Chetan Poyam and Devnath from Chhattisgarh. The seven deceased were named as Pradeep Singh Pawar, Mukesh, Durlabh Sharma, Vijay Hansda, Jitendra Kumar, Lokeshwar, and Bhuneshwar.

The Uttarakhand government has announced Rs 5 lakh compensation per victim, but THDC officials have demanded Rs 1 crore per family and educational support for the children of deceased workers. Around 175 personnel and 12 pumps have been deployed to drain water from the tunnel. The state government has ordered a probe into the incident.