A worker was killed by a rock fall in a tunnel last month at the Allain Duhangan hydro power project under construction in the state of Himachal Pradesh, in India.
Two other subcontractor workers suffered minor injuries in the accident, said project co-owner SN Power.
Last year the company launched a review of health and safety data at the project because of under-reporting of fatal accidents, which was discovered from an audit report in November 2008. The audit showed there were two deaths that had not been properly reported and, by then, there had been 11 fatalities on the project since work began in 2006.
Tunnelling works on the project include adits and an underground powerhouse at the confluence of two rivers. Poor geology, causing soil slides and loose rock, increases risk in the local Himalayan region, said SN Power.
The Norwegian company has launched an investigation into the fatal incident on 10 March, which comes a few months after it seconded international staff to the project to help improve project management, including health and safety systems and procedures.
SN Power has a 43% holding in project developer Malana Power, which is a joint venture. It has an agreement to acquire a 60% controlling share and as such took action when learned that information coming to it was not full and complete, as it described. The main partner at present is NLJ Bhilwara Group with a stake of 45%, and the minor investor is the International Finance Corp (IFC).
The Norwegian company is a JV of energy utility Statkraft and investment form Norfund.
