11 NHPC workers trapped, 8 rescued as landslide blocks Dhauliganga project tunnels in Uttarakhand

Eleven employees of National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited (NHPC) were trapped inside a power house on Sunday as a landslide blocked normal and emergency tunnels of Dhauliganga Power Project in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh, officials said.

Initially, 19 people were trapped but later eight of them were rescued by the administration, they said.

The path leading to the normal and emergency tunnels of the 280 MW power project in the Ealagarh area near Dharchula here in the district was blocked due to a landslide caused by heavy rains.

“After the incident, the administration immediately started the process of removing the debris. Right now, eight out of 19 people have been taken out while the process of taking out 11 others is underway,” Pithoragarh District Magistrate Vinod Goswami said.

He added that the situation is under control at the moment.

Earlier, Deputy District Magistrate Jitendra Verma said that despite the continuous falling of debris, JCB machines of the Border Roads Organisation and a haulage company have been deployed to clear the debris.

He said that power generation from the power project is continuing normally.