Chamoli Tunnel Collapse: All 10 Missing Workers Now Confirmed Dead, Search Ends

The bodies of two workers who had been missing after an under-construction tunnel was inundated in Chamoli district were recovered on Tuesday, taking the death toll from the incident to 10. The recovery brought an end to the search operation, according to Chamoli District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar. The two deceased workers were identified as Lucas Topno from Jharkhand and Chetan Poyam from Chhattisgarh.

The incident occurred on August 13 when a suspected aquifer burst sent a sudden torrent of water, debris and slush into a THDC under-construction tunnel, trapping 22 workers inside. Twelve workers were rescued during the operation, while the remaining 10 were initially reported missing. Rescue teams had been working continuously to locate those trapped in the affected sections of the tunnel.

The eight workers whose bodies were recovered earlier were identified as Pradeep Panwar from Tehri Garhwal, Mukesh Singh from Chamoli, Durlabh Sharma and Jitendra Kumar from Uttar Pradesh, Vijay Hansda from Jharkhand, and Lokeshwar, Bhuvneshwar and Devnath from Chhattisgarh. With the recovery of Topno and Poyam, authorities confirmed that all the missing workers had been accounted for and the search operation was completed.

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Kumar said the rescue effort was particularly difficult because large portions of the tunnel were filled with water, debris and slush, while heavy machinery had become stuck inside and restricted the movement of rescue teams. Personnel from the district administration, police, SDRF, NDRF, THDC and other agencies worked together to drain water, clear debris and search possible locations. Suction pumps and other equipment were used to gain access to deeper sections.

The operation also involved teams from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police at Joshimath and Gauchar, the Army at Joshimath, NDRF, SDRF, District Disaster Response Force and Central Industrial Security Force. The district magistrate said the coordinated efforts of the agencies and their sustained response were instrumental in completing the operation. All workers who were rescued were provided medical assistance, while those requiring further treatment were shifted to hospitals.

Preliminary assessments indicate that the tunnel was inundated after a rain-saturated aquifer ruptured through the roof of the three-kilometre-long tunnel, around 1.44 kilometres from its entrance. Rainwater had reportedly seeped into a water-bearing layer above the tunnel before breaking through a weak section of rock under pressure. Rescued workers said they first experienced a powerful gust of air before a surge of water, muck and boulders swept through the tunnel, trapping several workers deeper inside.

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