GOPESHWAR — Nearly a week after a deadly landslide triggered a catastrophic flood of water and debris into an under-construction hydro project tunnel, multi-agency rescue teams in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district are continuing their relentless search for two workers who remain unaccounted for.
The incident occurred on August 13 inside THDC India’s Mayapur-Pipalkoti tunnel project, claiming the lives of eight workers. Twelve others were rescued shortly after the disaster and received medical treatment for their injuries.
State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) officials confirmed that a joint task force—comprising personnel from the SDRF, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), local police, and district administration—has been operating round the clock despite hazardous conditions inside the subterranean passage.
Emergency personnel face extreme logistical hurdles, navigating thick layers of sludge and standing water trapped deep within the mountain structure. Heavy-duty pumps are actively running to drain the influx of water, allowing specialists to clear dense muck using specialized machinery and debris-clearing equipment.
Providing a critical update on ground progress, Chamoli District Information Officer Dheeraj Karki stated that rescue crews have successfully retrieved three of the five heavy Earth-moving JCB machines that were buried under the fallen rock and soil during the initial collapse.
"Extracting these heavy machines has allowed our search teams to penetrate deeper into the affected zones of the tunnel," Karki explained. "Work is underway on a war footing to extract the remaining two trapped JCBs, which will further accelerate our access to areas where the missing men are suspected to be."
Official records identify the two missing personnel as Lucas Topno, a resident of Jharkhand, and Chetan Poyam, who hails from Chhattisgarh. Emergency services maintain that rescue efforts will proceed without pause until both workers are located.
