Sikkim tunnel tragedy: Families wait as hazardous rescue continues
Times of India | 23 July 2026
Darjeeling: What began as a routine lunch delivery ended in a nightmare that Bablu Sahu will carry for the rest of his life.
The Jharkhand resident entered the under-construction Head Race Tunnel (HRT) of the NHPC Teesta Stage-VI Hydroelectric Project in South Sikkim on Monday afternoon to deliver food to his younger brother, uncle and grandfather working inside. As he was heading out, a suspected methane gas explosion ripped through the passage. The force of the blast hurled him to the ground. Though injured, Sahu managed to crawl to safety. His relatives never made it out and remain among those trapped inside.
“I was returning after delivering the lunch when the blast occurred. The force was so powerful that I thought I would die. My brother, uncle and grandfather are still trapped,” Sahu said.
As rescue operations entered the third day, the death toll stands at 20, with 13 bodies recovered and identified, while seven others remain spotted inside. Five workers are still missing. Search teams reported no major breakthrough in tracing the missing workers, with operations continuing under extremely hazardous conditions.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, NHPC said rescue efforts at the under-construction HRT were continuing round the clock in close coordination with multiple agencies. “Of the 25 personnel trapped inside the tunnel, 13 bodies have been retrieved so far. Every possible effort is continuing to locate and evacuate the remaining personnel at the earliest,” the company stated.
Emergency agencies have located seven more bodies but remain unable to retrieve them. The passage is inundated with mud and water, while toxic fumes have forced rescue workers to use oxygen equipment inside.
“We are trying to retrieve the visible bodies. At this stage, we do not know how many more are trapped deeper inside. Our immediate priority is recovering the bodies we can see, but accumulated water makes movement extremely difficult,” said Abhijit Kundu, superintendent, Eastern Coalfields Ltd, whose specialised mine rescue team is assisting in the operation.
According to NHPC, the accident occurred at 1.04 pm on July 20 when a pocket of methane gas trapped inside the rock strata suddenly burst. The explosion generated intense heat, flames and dense toxic fumes. Many recovered bodies were severely charred, complicating identification efforts.
Multiple agencies — including NDRF, SDRF, Indian Army, Sikkim Police, DGMS, district administration, NHPC, PEL, Eastern Coalfields Ltd, Western Coalfields Ltd and local volunteers — remain deployed at the site.