The toll in the THDC tunnel accident in Chamoli, Uttarakhand, rose to eight, while the search and rescue operation continues for two more missing persons, reports claimed on Sunday. Uttarakhand Disaster Management Minister Madan Kaushik said earlier that one of the three missing workers was found on Saturday but was declared dead at the hospital, while the search for the remaining two workers is underway. “Seven bodies were recovered yesterday, and three people were missing; one of them was found today. Our rescue operation is currently ongoing. Teams from the NDRF, SDRF, and local police are working on the ground, and this operation will continue until it is fully concluded,” Kaushik told ANI. Also Read | Dhami inspects THDC tunnel rescue operation in Chamoli, 3 people remain trapped Chamoli District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar also said the search for the remaining two workers was continuing without a break. “Regarding the rescue situation, three workers were missing. One of them was brought out today but was declared dead at the hospital. The search for the remaining two workers is still underway, and the operation is continuing without a break,” Kumar was quoted as saying. What happened in Chamoli? The accident occurred on Thursday evening after a landslide-like event near the Birhi River sent a heavy surge of water and debris into the [THDC] tunnel, trapping workers who were on duty, NDRF team commander Amrit Lal Meena said. The incident occurred at the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation’s (THDC) Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydroelectric project in Mayapur (Pipalkoti). As many as 22 people were trapped inside the three-kilometre tunnel when the water rushed in around 7 pm on Thursday, according to District Disaster Management Officer NK Joshi. Also Read | Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: 6 dead, 14 injured — updates CM Dhami said earlier, “At the THDC tunnel under construction in Chamoli, a sudden surge of debris and water trapped 22 workers who were on duty at the time…” Seven people died over Thursday and Friday. The death toll in the Pipalkoti tunnel accident rose to eight on Saturday after rescue teams recovered another body from the under-construction THDC tunnel. Two workers remain missing. “Two people are still missing. The search for one person was completed, and he was declared dead by the doctor. Teams from the SDRF and NDRF are engaged in the operation. Around 175 personnel and 12 pumps have been deployed to drain the water,” Chamoli Superintendent of Police Surjeet Singh Panwar said on Saturday. According to PTI, the seven deceased were identified as Pradeep Singh Pawar of Tehri, Mukesh of Chamoli, Durlabh Sharma of Bihar, Vijay Hansda and Jitendra Kumar of Jharkhand, and Lokeshwar and Bhuneshwar of Chhattisgarh. Also Read | Uttarakhand CM Dhami unveils ₹155.36 crore development package for Chamoli Rescue operations are being carried out by the NDRF, SDRF, District Disaster Response Force (DDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Army and other agencies. The three missing were Lucas Topno from Jharkhand and Chetan Poyam and Devnath from Chhattisgarh. The identity of the latest casualty was not yet revealed, PTI reported. Authorities said pumps brought in from NTPC and THDC helped lower the water level inside the tunnel, allowing rescue teams to make further progress. Difficulties in rescue ops High water levels and accumulated sludge inside the tunnel hampered the operation. Uttarakhand Disaster Management Minister Madan Kaushik said on Saturday that the rescue operation was facing difficulties due to the water level inside the tunnel, adding that teams had so far managed to reach only a few hundred metres from the point where the incident occurred. “There are difficulties in the work; the water flow, while not extremely rapid, is still significant. We are told that the water level inside is still around a meter or more,” the Minister said. Also Read | U’khand cloudburst: 1 dead, several trapped under debris in Chamoli | 9 updates “So far, our team has only managed to inspect the ‘zero point’, the origin of the incident. We have only penetrated a few hundred meters, perhaps 200, 300, or 400 meters, into the area. It might take another day or two to advance further, but the rescue operation will continue,” he added. The death toll in the Pipalkoti tunnel accident rose to eight on Saturday after rescue teams recovered another body from the under-construction THDC tunnel. Two workers remain missing. Compensation: What THDC officials demand After the meeting with Minister Madan Kaushik over the Pipalkoti tunnel collapse incident in Chamoli district, one of the THDC officials, Kuldeep Rajak from Jharkhand, said, “We spoke directly with the Minister, and he said that the accident was tragic, and he felt deeply saddened by it.” “The Uttarakhand government has announced a compensation of ₹5 lakh. However, we demanded that the family of the person who passed away should receive ₹1 crore in compensation,” the official added. Also Read | Cloud burst in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli, many houses ‘completely damaged’: VIDEO “If he left behind children, the government or company must provide for their education, so that the children of workers who died in these tunnels do not suffer the same fate. His children shouldn’t have to die like this,” the official said. He added, “If they receive a proper education, they can build a life and support their own families in the future. Today, their father went into the mouth of death just to earn a living and provide that education.” Probe ordered Earlier, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered a magisterial inquiry into the accident and said the safety of personnel working on construction projects must be the “top priority at any cost”. The Chief Minister said the inquiry would establish the facts and determine the precautions required to prevent such incidents in the future. He emphasised that “safety of personnel must be our top priority.” Also Read | Uttarakhand: Police sub-inspect among 15 killed in Chamoli transformer explosion “I have ordered a magisterial inquiry to uncover the facts clearly and determine what precautions need to be taken in the future. The safety of the personnel working on any construction project must be our top priority, at any cost. I issued instructions to this effect yesterday,” the CM said. Congress leader Harikrishna Bhatt, meanwhile, called for safety audits of ongoing projects, saying such audits should have been conducted after water and debris entered the tunnel. “Regarding the announced compensation of ₹4 lakh, a human life cannot be valued at merely ₹4 lakh. Safety audits should have been conducted for all such ongoing projects,” Bhatt told ANI. (With inputs from agencies) Source link Post navigation E. coli detected in drinking water at some railway stations, CAG report cites violation of Railway Board norms India to host BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting in Delhi on August 18: What to expect?
