Gopeshwar: Seven workers died when water gushed inside a tunnel under construction at a hydroelectric project site in Chamoli district, officials said on Friday.
Search for three missing persons is currently underway, they said.
The incident occurred in a tunnel at Mayapur (Pipalkoti), when landslides and subsidence caused debris and water to fill half of the tunnel, trapping workers inside.
District Disaster Management Officer N K Joshi said 22 people were inside the tunnel at the time of the incident on Thursday.
Of them, 19 were rescued overnight, seven died, and a search for the three missing is on, he said. The injured were taken to the Gopeshwar District Hospital.
Six rescue personnel entered the tunnel, which is still filled with water.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and the police are carrying out the rescue.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami landed at Pipalkoti in a helicopter to oversee operations.
District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar, who was at the site, has called for marshalling all resources needed to locate the missing persons.
In a post on X, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed concern over the incident and directed all agencies to conduct relief and rescue operations on a war footing.
पीपलकोटी स्थित THDC टनल के भीतर मलबा एवं पानी आने की सूचना प्राप्त हुई है।
— Pushkar Singh Dhami (@pushkardhami) August 13, 2026
घटना की गंभीरता को देखते हुए @NDRFHQ और @uksdrf की टीमों को तत्काल मौके पर भेजा गया है। जिला प्रशासन सहित सभी संबंधित एजेंसियों को युद्धस्तर पर राहत एवं बचाव अभियान चलाने के निर्देश दिए हैं।
स्वयं भी…
Vinod Kumar Suman, Secretary of the Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Department, said the situation was being continuously monitored from emergency operation centres and that additional teams would be deployed if required.
The incident came after rescue teams had earlier worked to evacuate workers trapped inside the tunnel following the sudden ingress of water and debris. The number of workers accounted for has since been updated, with 20 people brought out of the tunnel and two remaining unaccounted for.
