Fresh landslides halted rescue operations at the site of a collapsed under-construction tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Ramban district after a portion of a nearby mountain crashed. Operations were underway by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) to rescue nine workers trapped in the debris when a portion of a mountain crashed after shooting stones and falling boulders were reported, triggered by rains.
At around 4.40 pm, a fresh landslide and rains at the spot halted the rescue efforts. The rescue operations have been halted many times due to shooting stones and falling boulders forcing the rescue workers and machines to stop, an official statement by the ITBP said. Earthmovers are being used to clear heavy boulders at the site which is fully covered with tonnes of debris.
A video of the incident shows a portion of a mountain collapsing near the under-construction site where rescue operations, evident by earthmovers were underway.
#WATCH , A portion of a mountain falls apart in the Makerkote area at Jammu–Srinagar National Highway in Ramban near the site of the recuse operation, where a part of an under-construction tunnel collapsed late last night pic.twitter.com/SAjDhwFgol
— ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2022
Massaratul Islam, the Deputy Commissioner of Ramban, said the fresh collapse of the mountain was unexpected and setback the rescue operations by nearly 17 hours. “We were not expecting something like this (the collapse of a portion of a mountain in Makerkote). Two machines got stuck. Due to wind storms, the rescue operation was impacted and 16-17 hours of the operation were wasted. Have to make a new assessment,” he said.
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) are present at the site to provide help to local administration.
Around 10.15 pm on Thursday, the audit tunnel of T3 on the highway near Khooni Nallah in Ramban collapsed, trapping 11-12 workers of Sarla Company working there. Rescue operation on the national highway stretch between Ramban and Ramsu began at midnight and was going on in full swing with rock-breakers being used to reach out to those trapped.
A labourer, hailing from West Bengal was killed and three others were rescued. Two of those hospitalised are identified as Vishnu Gola (33) of Jharkhand and Ameen (26) of Jammu and Kashmir. The third person, whose name has not been disclosed, has been taken to the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu, police said.
Those trapped inside the tunnel are natives of Jadav Roy (23), Gautam Roy (22), Sudhir Roy (31), Dipak Roy (33) and Parimal Roy (38), all from West Bengal, Shiva Chouhan (26) from Assam , Nepali citizens Nawaraj Chowdhury (26) and Kushi Ram (25), and Jammu and Kashmir residents Muzaffar (38) and Israt (30). Officials had earlier said their chances of survival are slim.
Union minister Jitendra Singh termed the collapse of a part of the tunnel “unfortunate”. “I am in constant touch with DC Mussrat Islam. Nearly 10 labor workers were trapped under the debris. Another two were rescued and hospitalised with injuries. Rescue operations are going on in full swing. Civil administration and police authorities are monitoring the situation,” he said.
The tunnel area near Mekarkot, Ramban is also known as “Khooni nallah” or ‘Killer Rivulet’ due to an alarming number of deaths in road mishaps and accidents.
(With inputs from PTI)
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