Sikkim tunnel collapse: 22 bodies recovered, search ops underway to trace 3 more workers

NAMCHI: (Jul 23) The bodies of 22 workers have been retrieved from the NHPC hydropower project tunnel under construction in Sikkim’s Namchi district, officials said on Thursday.

Twenty-five workers were inside the under-construction NHPC Teesta Stage VI Hydropower Project tunnel, which collapsed following an explosion suspected to have been caused by methane gas shortly after 1 pm on Monday.

Rescue operations remain in progress, with specialised teams working in close coordination to locate and recover the remaining labourers, a state government official said.