Indian Tunnel Disaster
In this image provided by the Information and Public Relations Department, Government of Sikkim, rescue workers stand outside an under-construction tunnel at a hydropower project in Samardung village, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Gangtok, India, Wednesday, July 22, 2026.
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Authorities have recovered the bodies of 13 workers trapped inside a collapsed hydropower tunnel in India. The government of the Himalayan state of Sikkim says rescue operations concluded Thursday after coordinated efforts by multiple agencies. The death toll rose to 25 in the four days after a gas explosion ripped through the tunnel on Monday at the 500-megawatt Teesta Hydroelectric Project in Sikkim. The project is about 40 kilometers south of the state capital Gangtok. Construction accidents are not uncommon in India, where rapid infrastructure growth often collides with fragile geology, construction lapses, extreme weather and safety standards.
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