A 21-year-old construction worker from Jharkhand was killed after a section of the concrete lining inside the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel collapsed in Uttarkashi district during the early hours of Thursday, officials said.
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Confirming the incident, Uttarkashi District Magistrate Prashant Arya said the incident occurred at around 2am, nearly 900 metres from the Barkot-side part of the 4.5-km-long tunnel.
“The fatal incident occurred when a heavy section of the tunnel’s concrete shotcrete lining fractured and collapsed on the worker,” Arya said.
“No other labourers are currently caught under the debris. However, the final details will be available only after the complete inquiry report is submitted,” he said.
The district magistrate directed senior district officials, including the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), Barkot, to visit the site, assess the situation and submit a detailed report.
The Silkyara tunnel had drawn international attention in November 2023 when a major collapse inside the tunnel blocked a 60-metre stretch of the tunnel, trapping 41 workers inside for 17 days. The workers were eventually rescued in a complex multi-agency operation after specialised rat-hole miners manually drilled through the final section of debris and twisted steel to reach them.
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Meanwhile, the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) has launched a probe into the incident to determine the exact cause of the structural failure. Officials said conclusions would be drawn only after the factual assessment is completed.
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The worker sustained fatal injuries after being struck by the falling debris and died at the site, he added.
Arya said no other workers were trapped in the collapse and the tunnel remained accessible.
