DEHRADUN/PITHORAGARH: Three days after the Pithoragarh district administration claimed that all 19 National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) workers trapped inside a landslide-blocked tunnel at its Dhauliganga hydroelectric project had been rescued, 11 of them were finally pulled out alive on Tuesday — after spending 72 hours confined behind tonnes of debris.
On Aug 30 (Saturday), a massive landslide triggered by heavy rain blocked both the main tunnel and the emergency shaft at the 280MW run-of-the-river hydropower project near Dharchula. At the time, 19 men — a mix of NHPC officials and contractual workers — were inside the tunnel. Eight were rescued the same day, but fresh landslides thwarted multiple attempts to reach the remaining 11.
On Sunday afternoon, the administration issued a statement saying that 11 men were still inside and that rescue work was on. But by 7pm, it issued an "updated statement" declaring that all 19 had been "successfully rescued" even as the 11 workers remained trapped underground.
On Monday evening, the trapped workers released a video from inside the tunnel. "We are contractual employees of NHPC and have been stuck inside for three days. We are safe, but both entry and exit are blocked," said Jitendra Sonal. In an accompanying audio clip, a worker was heard saying: "Anxiety is creeping in… we feel fatigued and stressed. But we are doing our duty… we want to get out."
Following the release of the video, the State Disaster Response Force, National Disaster Response Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Border Roads Organisation and local police launched a large-scale joint operation. Around 1pm on Tuesday, the 11 workers were finally rescued and shifted to Dharchula for medical care.
"We stayed in constant touch with those inside, assuring them of progress," said NHPC worker Narendra Singh. Chandra Sonal, one of the rescued men, said: "A massive landslide blocked the tunnel mouth. We saw it on CCTV, and teams outside confirmed it."
The men had carried some rations with them, and NDRF later sent fruits and supplies through the cable gallery. "Once it became clear we had to stay longer, we began rotating shifts — two hours of work followed by rest. We kept ourselves connected with the outside world through telecommunication, mobiles and even a TV," said Sonal.
The Dhauliganga hydroelectric project, commissioned in 2005, is located near the Nepal and Tibet borders. In 2013, flash floods had submerged its powerhouse. In Feb 2021, a glacier-burst in Chamoli caused a deadly flood that damaged the nearby Rishi Ganga and Tapovan Vishnugad projects, killing more than 70 people and affecting infrastructure around Dhauliganga.
District magistrate Vinod Goswami and sub-divisional magistrate Jitenfra Verma of Dharchula were unavailable for comment on the reported "miscommunication" related to the workers' rescue despite repeated attempts.
NHPC's group general manager M Kannan said: "The terrain here is highly landslide-prone during monsoon, and such challenges are not new. But our employees' safety remains our foremost priority. Even under these conditions, we ensured food, water, medicines and communication lines for the trapped workers. We also set up rest areas and supported the men until they could be brought out," he said.
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