Seven dead, three missing after water and debris flood under-construction tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli

#WATCH | Chamoli, Uttarakhand: Rescue operation underway after debris and water entered the under-construction tunnel of Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Limited (THDC) at Pipalkoti.

Team commander, NDRF, Amrit Lal Meena, says, “When our team arrived and commenced operations,… pic.twitter.com/WjNTlEoQtE

— ANI (@ANI) August 13, 2026

Of the 22 workers trapped, 19 were rescued overnight. Seven of those rescued had died, and the search for three missing continued on Friday.

THDCIL clarified that the search and rescue operations for the missing workers are being accorded the highest priority and a detailed assessment of the causes and circumstances of the incident will be conducted in coordination with the competent authorities/agencies.

Chamoli District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar said the rescue operation was launched immediately after the incident was reported. “Work was going on inside the tunnel. Probably some cavity developed through which water and debris entered the tunnel with a loud sound,” he said.

Among the injured, 10 are undergoing treatment at the District Hospital in Gopeshwar, one is admitted at the Base Hospital in Srinagar (Pauri Garhwal), and one has been discharged.

The three missing workers have been identified as Chetan Poyam and Devnath from Chhattisgarh, and Lukas Topno from Jharkhand. Among the dead, two were from Uttar Pradesh, two from Chhattisgarh, one from Jharkhand, and two from Tehri Garhwal and Chamoli districts of Uttarakhand.

Among the injured, five are from Jharkhand, two each from Chhattisgarh and Bihar, and one each from West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Rohit Pandey of Bihar has been referred to the Base Hospital in Srinagar for advanced treatment; Govindo Mandal of West Bengal has been discharged.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday visited the tunnel site, reviewed the search and rescue operations and met injured workers at a government hospital in Gopeshwar. He ordered a magisterial inquiry into the cause of the incident and said rescuing every trapped worker was the government’s priority. “There will be no relaxation in the search operation,” he said.

Dhami also spoke to the chief ministers of the states from which the affected workers came, to ensure their families were informed promptly.

The government has deployed personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Army, CISF and Uttarakhand Police for the search and rescue operation. Underwater cameras and dog squads are also being used.