DEHRADUN: Twelve workers were injured, four of them critically, in a sudden landslide that struck the dam site of the under-construction Vishnugad Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Project in Helang, Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, on Saturday. The project is being developed by the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC).
Following the incident, teams from the tehsil administration, police, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and health department swiftly arrived at the site. All injured workers were rescued and immediately admitted to various hospitals for treatment.
District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari confirmed that there were no fatalities reported from the Helang incident, stating that 12 workers sustained injuries in total.
Of the injured, four are currently receiving treatment at the THDC Hospital. Two seriously injured workers are undergoing treatment at Swami Vivekananda Hospital in Pipalkoti, while another individual had a plaster cast applied at the same facility. One critically injured worker has been referred to the Medical College in Srinagar for advanced care.
The Vishnugad Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Project, an ambitious undertaking by THDC, is being constructed on the Alaknanda River. The river is currently diverted through a diversion tunnel, and the accident allegedly occurred during ongoing construction work at this site.
Nand Kishore Joshi, District Disaster Management Officer of Chamoli, told this newspaper, “One injured person has been sent to Srinagar Hospital for an MRI scan due to a head injury.”
SDRF Commandant Arpan Yaduvanshi told this daily, “All individuals have been rescued and saved safely by SDRF along with other relief teams.”
The incident comes as the Meteorological Department issued a flood warning for the next 24 hours, starting Saturday. Heavy rainfall is expected to increase the risk of flooding in several districts, including Almora, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Champawat, Dehradun, Nainital, Pauri Garhwal, Pithoragarh, Tehri Garhwal, and Uttarkashi.