20 dead and 5 missing in India tunnel collapse
At least 20 people are dead and five are missing after a gas explosion inside an under-construction tunnel at a hydropower project in India’s northeastern Himalayan state of Sikkim, officials said.
State-owned NHPC, which builds and operates mainly hydroelectric projects, said in a statement that the explosion at the site of the 500-megawatt Teesta hydroelectric project generated dense fumes and toxic gases.
The explosion occurred Monday afternoon in Namchi, about 40 kilometers from the state capital, Gangtok, when suspected methane gas trapped in the rocks was released during tunneling work.
“Of those 25 trapped inside the tunnel, 20 are confirmed dead,” Namchi Superintendent of Police Sonam D. Bhutia was cited by news reports as saying. Only 13 bodies have been recovered from the tunnel so far.
The search and rescue operation is being carried out by multiple agencies including teams from the national and state disaster response forces.
Survivors reportedly heard a loud explosion before debris came crashing through the tunnel, State Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang was reported as saying.
#Sikkim: Search and rescue operation is on for the third day today to evacuate people trapped inside the under-construction tunnel of NHPC Teesta Stage VI Hydroelectric Project at Samardung in Namchi district. pic.twitter.com/yoe34egas6
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) July 22, 2026
An official from the National Disaster Response Force at the site said toxic gases inside the tunnel had forced his team to use breathing equipment as they searched for survivors.
NHPC and the state government will together pay about $9,300 (Rs 900,000) to the families of each of the deceased. The company said its top management is at the accident site, coordinating and monitoring the rescue operations.
