One construction worker from West Bengal was found dead while the fate of nine others remained unknown after an under construction 'adit' tunnel collapsed near 'Khooni nallah' between Ramban and Ramsoo along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway late Thursday night. Three laborers were safely rescued from the accident site late in the night by the rescue teams launched by the district administration.
At least nine trapped workers could not be rescued during the day-long joint rescue operations conducted by the teams of National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, civil,army and police authorities.
According to official sources, the rescue operations were hampered by the inclement weather conditions late Friday evening and the same were suspended by the authorities to prevent further loss of lives.The rescue operations would be resumed on Saturday morning.
Deputy Commissioner Ramban, Masrat-ul-Islam who led the rescue teams late Thursday night told reporters at the accident site on Friday, "at around 10.45 p.m, I first received an information that mouth of an 'adit tunnel' to tunnel T4 have collapsed. We immediately mobilised our teams and rushed to the accident site. We started the rescue operations around 12.00 a.m". The rescue operations were delayed because the accident site was still active and the rescue teams were not allowed to launch the operations to avoid further loss of lives". Three laborers were rescued late last night while we recovered one dead body of a labourer from West Bengal during the day. Out of these three one of them has been referred to the Government Medical college hospital in Jammu. He said the rescue teams were still looking for 9 survivors as they remained untraceable. Out of these four hailed from West Bengal, two from Nepal, 1 from Assam and two others were locals.
Masrat Ul Islam informed the adit tunnel which collapsed was an escape tunnel which is normally used for emergency purposes, supplies and ventilation. It was only punctured three meters when it collapsed late Thursday night. "Unfortunately there was not enough space for the labourers to move inside the tunnel which could have saved them. We are still keeping our fingers crossed and hope to find some people alive", he added.
Official sources claimed a major tragedy was averted as the accident was reported late in the night when only about one dozen people were present on duty. During the day more labourers work at the under construction tunnel site.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha who is constantly monitoring the situation in Ramban. He also chaired a high-level meeting with senior officials at the Civil Secretariat and discussed the progress of rescue operations.
Expressing concern over the incident, the Lt Governor said rescue operations will continue on war footing till the last person is reached.
According to a local eyewitness the tunnel collapsed around 10.15 p.m when big boulders hit the front portion. Local reports suggested the construction agency had triggered local blasts at the construction site earlier.
"It was pitch dark. There was no power supply in the area. The labourers were trapped under the debris", claimed Yasir, an eyewitness.
Another eyewitness Manjeet said, some labourers were standing on the mouth of the tunnel and others were working on the ground when suddenly big boulders hit them and everything including heavy machinery was buried. Senior officers of the National Highway Authority of India along with Divisional Commissioner Jammu Ramesh Kumar Jangid, ADGP Police,Jammu range Mukesh Singh and representatives of the project execution agency visited the spot to take stock of the rescue operations.
Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar Jangid said, teams of NDRF, SDRF local police and civil authorities are all working together to rescue the survivors from the accident site. He said the machinery was mobilised late in the night and rescue operations were launched to rescue the trapped workers, "We are facing challenges because we have to first cut the boulders and then push the same downhill to create gaps to look for survivors. We have to ensure safety of the rescue workers and using minimal machinery to prevent fresh landslide in the area", said DC Ramban Masrat-ul-Islam.
An expert Geologist Prof GM Bhat observed, "it appears the project execution agencies are going ahead with unplanned excavation, subletting the job to non professional people".
They are blasting the rocks by adopting an 'unscientific' approach. Prof Bhat claimed the rocks in the region are strong enough. The mishaps are not happening due to natural causes even though the region falls in the seismic zone IV and V. The mishaps are happening because the agencies on the ground are adopting an unscientific approach of blasting the rocks.