Following last week’s dramatic T&TI email newsletter story that 20 workers were trapped in a tunnel by a landslide, the Indian Ministry of Power has confirmed that all of the men were rescued alive and unhurt.
The tunnel was part of the Parbati Hydroelectric Project.
A landslide triggered by heavy rainfall trapped workers at approximately 1:30am on Sunday 8 August. Silt deposited by six meter high floods completely blocked the tunnel entrance. Rescuers used two items of earthmoving equipment already at the site to clear the debris and by late Monday afternoon all of the workers were freed.
At the Tehri Dam project, also in India, where a week earlier a landslide led to 29 men losing their lives, reports said workers were too scared to enter the tunnel. “Dozens” were said to have been in the tunnel when the incident occurred.
