Sikkim tunnel blast kills 12, 13 trapped; toll may rise

A suspected methane gas explosion in an under-construction tunnel in Sikkim, India, has claimed the lives of at least 12 workers, with 13 others still trapped for over 24 hours. The incident occurred at the NHPC Teesta Stage VI Hydropower Project in Namchi district on Monday afternoon.

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In all 12 bodies have been recovered till 7pm on Tuesday and 13 are still missing.

Rescue operations are in full swing, with a mining safety team from neighboring West Bengal joining the effort. This team has reportedly spotted eight more bodies inside the tunnel, though this claim had not been verified by district officials at the time of reporting. A total of 25 workers were initially trapped inside the tunnel, located about 1.5 km from its mouth.

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We will carry out the rescue operation until late night and will resume it early Wednesday morning. Seven of the bodies recovered have been identified.

Officials confirmed that 12 bodies had been recovered by Tuesday evening, with seven identified. The deceased workers hailed from various Indian states including West Bengal, Punjab, Assam, and Uttarakhand. The Sikkim government has announced an ex-gratia payment of ₹4 lakh for the kin of each deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured. A high-level committee will investigate the cause of the explosion.

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A high-level committee will be constituted to investigate the matter.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke with Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, offering full support from the central government. The Prime Minister also announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh for the families of those killed and ₹50,000 for the injured. The Sikkim legislative assembly observed a two-minute silence to mourn the victims. The explosion is suspected to have been caused by a sudden burst of methane gas trapped within the rocks, ignited when a tunnel boring machine hit a pocket of the gas.

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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.