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India tunnel blast kills 10 workers, leaves at least 15 trapped

Fifteen Indian workers were feared trapped on Tuesday after a blast caused by a suspected gas leak in a tunnel at ‌a hydroelectric project in…

By Samantha Johnson / July 21, 2026

Fifteen Indian workers were feared trapped on Tuesday after a blast caused by a suspected gas leak in a tunnel at ‌a hydroelectric project in the rugged state of Sikkim killed 10, authorities said.

Monday’s incident took place at state-owned National Hydroelectric Power Corp’s (NHPC) project on the Teesta river in the northeastern state’s ⁠village of Samardung, district official Subash Ghimirey said.

A sudden burst of gas suspected to be methane trapped or embedded in rocks ‌in the tunnel caused an explosion that sent out ⁠dense ⁠fumes and toxic gas, NHPC said in a statement.

Survival ‌chances for the trapped workers were slim, state disaster management official Rajiv ‌Roka said, ‌as rescuers had to battle the fumes, making ‌their task difficult.

At least 25 project workers ⁠and officials were trapped in the tunnel, NHPC said, a ⁠tally that includes the 10 bodies retrieved.

Photographs on the state government’s Facebook page showed rescuers ‌wearing orange hazard ‌suits unloading oxygen cylinders, ropes and other emergency equipment from a vehicle.

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