18 Workers Dead After Truck Plunges into Gorge Near India-China Border In Arunachal, NDRF Team Deployed
The accident in a remote area went unreported until a survivor reached a BRTF camp. Rescue operations, involving the Army and NDRF, are underway.
Tinsukia/Itanagar (Assam), Dec 11 (PTI) At least 18 people from Assam's Tinsukia district were killed and three others are missing as the truck carrying them fell into a deep gorge in a remote and difficult terrain in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh, officials said on Thursday.
The accident took place on Hayuliang-Chaglagam Road in Anjaw district in the eastern part of the hill state on December 8 when the truck was carrying 22 labourers, Defence PRO Lt Col Mahender Rawat said, citing the lone survivor's version.
Arunachal Pradesh Disaster Management Secretary Dani Salu said an NDRF team reached an area about 10 km from Hayuliang on Thursday evening and would begin operations to retrieve the bodies on Friday if weather permits.
The site, approximately 12 km from Chaglagam, lies in difficult terrain with limited connectivity, and the accident had not been reported by any local agency, contractor or civil representative until the survivor's arrival, Rawat said, adding that 18 bodies have been sighted.
The accident appears to have occurred in the evening or night of December 8, around 40 km from Hayuliang towards Chaglagam. However, the district administration received no information about the crash either on December 9 or during the day on December 10, Salu said.
“Around the evening of December 10, one of the survivors managed to climb out of the gorge and reach a nearby Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) labour camp, where he was given immediate medical aid,” he said in a statement.
The BRTF authorities subsequently alerted the district’s deputy commissioner. But, due to the late hour, extremely treacherous terrain, and unreliable weather, a rescue attempt that night was deemed unsafe. Requisition to the NDRF was sent immediately, Salu said.
The Defence PRO said that the Army's Spear Corps on the early morning of Thursday mobilised multiple search and rescue columns, medical teams, GREF representatives, local police, and others.
"At 1155 hours, after four hours of intensive search and rope descent, the truck was spotted around 200 metres below the road near KM 40 in a re-entrant, inaccessible and not visible from helicopters or the road due to dense tree cover and thick foliage," he added.
The ADC of Hayuliang is questioning the sub-contractor of the Zila Parishad Member, Chaglagam, to verify the antecedents and exact strength of the workers hired, Rawat said.
"Despite harsh terrain and poor visibility, the Indian Army, in coordination with civil administration and other agencies, is making all possible efforts to trace the remaining individuals and provide immediate assistance," he added.
On Thursday, the Army, BRTF, local police, and district administration launched a full-scale operation, said the Arunachal Pradesh official.
“But retrieval was not possible because the gorge is very deep. Only the technical expertise of the NDRF can safely retrieve them,” Salu noted.
The NDRF team reached Metaliang, about 10 km from Hayuliang, on Thursday evening and halted there for the night. Retrieval operations are expected to resume on Friday if weather and terrain permit, he said.
Assam's Tinsukia District Commissioner Swapneel Paul told PTI that a team comprising the Tinsukia circle officer Jaideep Rajak and several police personnel were dispatched to the neighbouring state.
"Initial reports indicated that the workers were engaged by a private contractor in a project in Hayuliang. They were travelling in a dumper that skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge,” Rajak told PTI.
The private contractor has been taken to the police station for questioning, the Arunachal Pradesh officer said.
“The DC Tinsukia has been contacted, and the circle officer of Tinsukia will reach Anjaw on Friday. The circle officer of Chaglagam has been designated as the liaison officer,” he added.
Tinsukia Senior Superintendent of Police Mayank Kumar said that 22 labourers from the district had gone to Arunachal Pradesh for the construction of a hostel.
"They were from Dhelaghat of Gillapukri Tea Estate," he added.
One of the workers, Budheswor Deep, managed to escape from the spot and called up his relatives on Wednesday morning. This phone call first alerted the families about the incident, Kumar said.
Apart from Deep, 18 more labourers, including the dead and the missing, have been identified. They are Rahul Kumar, Somir Deep, Arjun Kumar, Pankaj Manki, Ajay Manki, Bijay Kumar, Abhoy Bhumij, Rohit Manki, Birendra Kumar, Agor Tanti, Dhiren Chatriya, Rojoni Nag, Deep Gowala, Ramsebak Suna, Sonaton Nag, Sanjay Kumar, Karan Kumar and Junash Munda.
(Disclaimer: This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
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