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GUWAHATI: 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 ten, authorities said.
Monday’s incident took place at state-owned National Hydroelectric Power Corp Ltd’s 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.
