13 Bodies Recovered From Collapsed Sikkim Tunnel, Rescue Ops Continue
The death toll from a tunnel collapse at the NHPC Teesta Stage VI project in Sikkim has risen to 13, with officials suspecting methane gas caused the explosion. Rescue operations are ongoing to locate the remaining missing workers.
Why it matters
This is a major industrial disaster raising concerns about safety protocols in large-scale infrastructure projects.
Asphyxiation and burn injuries could be the reason for the death of the labourers who were working in a tunnel under construction, which collapsed two days ago in Sikkim's Namchi district, indicated the postmortem report of one of the victims.The body of one more worker was recovered from the NHPC Teesta Stage VI Hydropower Project tunnel on Wednesday during search operations, taking the number of bodies retrieved so far to 13, officials said.Twenty-five workers were inside the tunnel which collapsed following an explosion suspected to have been caused by methane gas shortly after 1 pm on Monday."Out of those 25 trapped inside the tunnel, 20 are confirmed dead," Namchi Superintendent of Police (SP) Sonam D Bhutia said on July 21.The postmortem report of one of the victims revealed that asphyxiation was the cause of the death, a medical officer of the STNM Hospital here said."The asphyxiation could be due to…
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