Guwahati, July 23: One of Sikkim’s most challenging industrial rescue operations came to a close on Thursday after teams recovered the bodies of the last three workers trapped inside the under-construction NHPC Teesta Stage VI Hydropower Project tunnel at Samardung in Namchi district, taking the death toll to 25.

Authorities said a final sweep of the tunnel confirmed that no one remained trapped, ending a gruelling four-day operation carried out in hazardous conditions marked by toxic gases, mud and unstable terrain.

The victims included workers and officials of NHPC, ARX and Patel Engineering Ltd and hailed from 10 states. West Bengal accounted for the highest number of fatalities (11), followed by Jharkhand (4), Jammu and Kashmir (2) and Uttarakhand (2). One victim each was from Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, Punjab and Assam.

Following the tragedy, the Sikkim government has constituted a high-level inquiry committee to determine the cause of the accident and recommend measures to strengthen safety at infrastructure projects across the state.

The rescue mission brought together the NDRF, SDRF, Mines Rescue Team of Eastern Coalfields Limited, Sikkim Police, Fire and Emergency Services, NHPC, the Health Department and other agencies under the supervision of the Namchi district administration and the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority.

The bodies have been shifted to hospitals in Singtam, Gangtok, Namchi and the Central Referral Hospital (CRH), Manipal, for medico-legal formalities before being handed over to their families.

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