Gangtok: Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Tuesday announced an ex-gratia of ₹4 lakhs for the next of kin of the workers who died in the tunnel collapse in Sikkim's Namchi district and ₹50,000 for the injured.
As many as 25 workers, including a few project officers, had been trapped inside the collapsed tunnel on Monday. Out of them, 20 people died and efforts are underway to rescue the others.
In a statement, the chief minister also announced that a special committee will be constituted to find out the cause of the methane gas blast which led to the collapse of the tunnel of the NHPC Teesta Stage VI project at Jhorlunge in Samardung on Monday.
Tamang, who reached the mishap site earlier in the day, told reporters that a special mining rescue team from neighbouring West Bengal has arrived at the site to assist in the ongoing search operations for the workers trapped inside the tunnel.
The operations are being carried out jointly by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the police, district administration, and other local authorities, the chief minister said.
"An unfortunate incident occurred at 1.04 P.M on July 20, 2026, inside the under-construction Head Race Tunnel (HRT) of NHPC Teesta Stage VI Hydroelectric Project, Samardung, South Sikkim, after sudden burst of suspected methane gas trapped/embedded inside the rocks which led to explosion generating dense fumes and toxic gases," the NHPC said in a statement.