Sikkim Tunnel Collapse: 12 Dead, 13 Trapped After Suspected Methane Blast

 A suspected methane gas explosion and subsequent tunnel collapse in Sikkim's Namchi district killed at least 12 workers and left 13 others trapped for over 24 hours. The incident occurred shortly after 1 pm on Monday at Adit 3 of the NHPC Teesta Stage VI Hydropower Project at Samardung in South Sikkim,.

Rescue operations are currently underway to locate the missing workers. "In all 12 bodies have been recovered till 7pm on Tuesday and 13 are still missing," Namchi District Collector Anupa Tamling told PTI.

Emergency teams continue to work at the site. The 500 MW hydel project lies at least 1.5 km from the tunnel's entrance. "We will carry out the rescue operation until late night and will resume it early Wednesday morning," Tamling said.

Rescue Efforts Face Hurdles

A mining safety team from Eastern Coalfields Limited in West Bengal joined the operations on Tuesday. They arrived with specialized safety gear and high-tech equipment to assist the state response.

The Eastern Coalfields Limited team stated they spotted eight more bodies inside the mud-filled tunnel, indicating the toll may have risen to 20. However, Sikkim Inspector General of Police Tashi Wangyal and the Namchi district administration stated that the official death toll remains at 12. "Till Tuesday the death toll was 12," Wangyal said.

The presence of carbon monoxide inside the tunnel made first responders ill on Monday, delaying rescue operations. Among the dead were migrant labourers from Uttarakhand, Assam, Punjab and West Bengal. Authorities have identified seven bodies so far.

Suspected Methane Gas Explosion

In an official statement, NHPC stated that a sudden burst of suspected methane gas trapped inside the rocks triggered the explosion, generating dense fumes and toxic gases.

"The explosion was triggered by a possible methane gas leak. The methane gas was probably trapped in a pocket in the rock which was being drilled by the tunnel boring machine. When the machine hit that pocket the gas leaked and triggered the explosion," an anonymous NHPC official told PTI.

Burn injuries on the victims support the theory of a gas-triggered blast. "The presence of carbon monoxide is almost conclusive evidence that there was methane explosion in the tunnel. The burn injuries on the victims and the presence of carbon monoxide point to the fact that there was methane which triggered the explosion," the official said.

Government Announces Financial Aid

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang and Governor Om Prakash Mathur visited the incident site on Tuesday to assess the damage. "A high-level committee will be constituted to investigate the matter," Tamang said.

Tamang announced an ex-gratia payment of ₹4 lakh for the kin of the deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke to Tamang to assure central assistance.

Modi announced an additional ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh for the families of the deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured. Meanwhile, the Sikkim Legislative Assembly observed a two-minute silence to mourn the dead workers.