8th body found in Chamoli tunnel, 2 workers still trapped: Officials

Rescuers on Saturday found one more body inside a tunnel under construction that was inundated with water two days ago here, taking the death toll to eight, with the clock ticking for the couple of workers still inside.

Twenty-two people were trapped inside the three-kilometre tunnel when water rushed in around 7 p.m. on Thursday, according to District Disaster Management Officer N.K. Joshi.

The incident occurred at the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation’s (THDC) Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydroelectric project in Mayapur (Pipalkoti), when landslides and subsidence caused debris and water to fill half of the tunnel.

Seven people died on Thursday and Friday.

On Saturday, Chamoli ADM Vivek Prakash said one more body was recovered during the rescue operation.

Rescue teams are draining the water from the tunnel through suction pumps and desperately trying to reach the two workers, officials said.

On Friday, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited Pipalkoti and reviewed the rescue operations.

The 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.

The three missing till yesterday were Lucas Topno from Jharkhand and Chetan Poyam and Devnath from Chhattisgarh.

The identity of the latest casualty was not yet revealed.