Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 21
NHPC Teesta-VI Tunnel Collapse Kills 10 at 500-MW Sikkim Project
Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 21

NHPC Teesta-VI Tunnel Collapse Kills 10 at 500-MW Sikkim Project

3 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 21

Summary

  • At least 10 workers died after an under-construction tunnel at NHPC’s Teesta-VI hydropower project in Sikkim collapsed around midday Monday.
  • A sudden burst of methane gas from surrounding rocks triggered an explosion, NHPC said in a stock exchange filing, causing the cave-in.
  • The blast trapped 25 workers and officials inside the tunnel in Namchi district, and more people may still be buried.
  • The accident hit NHPC’s 500-megawatt project in India’s fragile Himalayan northeast, where earlier reports said rescue crews were contending with toxic gases.

Insights

As rescuers face toxic gas, what failures allowed a predictable methane blast to claim so many lives?
Is the quest for hydropower in the Himalayas ignoring deadly warnings from the geologically fragile mountains?