Several Workers Trapped as Under-Construction Tunnel Collapses in Uttarakhand

Dehradun: Several workers were trapped inside a tunnel in Uttarakhand on Sunday when a portion of the under-construction structure collapsed.

According to the local police, the incident occurred around 4 am. Around 150-metre-long portion of the four-and-a-half-kilometer-long tunnel collapsed.

Efforts are on to open the tunnel and rescue the trapped workers from the tunnel.

This under-construction tunnel proposed to connect Silkyara and Dandalgaon in the Uttarkashi region is being built under the Char Dham Road Project.  This tunnel will reduce the distance from Uttarkashi to Yamunotri Dham by 26 kilometres.

According to NDTV, 40 workers are feared trapped in the tunnel. Authorities said that nearly 200 metres of the slab will have to be cleared to open the tunnel. Oxygen is being supplied to the stranded labourers through an inserted oxygen pipe. No casualties have been reported so far.