Methane Blast Triggers Sikkim Tunnel Collapse — 12 Confirmed Dead
Last update: July 22, 2026
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A routine shift inside a Himalayan hydropower tunnel turned deadly — now 12 workers are confirmed dead, and rescue teams are racing against time to find 13 more still trapped underground.
At least 12 workers have lost their lives after an under-construction tunnel collapsed in north-eastern India, officials have confirmed.
The horror unfolded on Monday, about 1.5km inside a tunnel in Sikkim state, following what is believed to have been a sudden methane gas explosion.
According to cbinews.tv, rescue operations are still very much under way, with teams working to locate 13 others who have been trapped since the blast.
The tunnel itself is part of a much bigger hydropower project — it’s designed to carry water from the Teesta River to the turbines of a plant being developed by the state-owned National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC).
In a statement, NHPC said the accident happened after a “sudden burst of suspected methane gas trapped/embedded inside the rocks which led to an explosion generating dense fumes and toxic gases”.
The Sikkim government, in a separate statement, put it down to “methane gas combustion”.
It’s the kind of risk tunnelling crews know all too well. Methane is a naturally occurring gas that can get trapped underground. If it’s released in a confined space and hits a spark, it can ignite or explode in seconds.
At the time of the incident, 27 people were working in different sections inside the tunnel. Two managed to escape after the explosion, leaving 25 trapped.
“Of the 25 people who were trapped, we have recovered 12 bodies so far, and teams are working to locate the 13 other men,” Superintendent of Police Sonam D Bhutia told the BBC on Wednesday morning.
Police say seven of the victims have been identified so far — one from Sikkim and the others migrant workers from West Bengal, Uttarakhand and Assam. The exact cause of death will be confirmed after post-mortem examinations.
Right now, the search-and-rescue effort is laser-focused on a 200-metre zone where the remaining workers are believed to be, NDRF officer Mohsen Shahedi told ANI news agency.
Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang has ordered a special investigation team to get to the bottom of it.
“We have engaged a team of experts to find out what exactly happened and how. We will take action on the basis of the findings,” he told reporters.
Our thoughts are with the families of the victims as rescue efforts continue.
Source: cbinews.tv
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