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18 workers killed after truck plunges into gorge in Arunachal Pradesh
The incident took place on December 8, however, the matter surfaced after an injured person alerted the authorities on the Chaglagam border on Wednesday.
At least 18 labourers were killed while one person survived after a truck carrying them skidded off a narrow mountain road and fell into a deep gorge near Metengliang in Arunachal Pradesh’s Anjaw district, officials said on Thursday.
Anjaw superintendent of police (SP) Anurag Dwivedi said the group of 22 labourers had left Assam’s Tinsukia district on December 7 for Chaglagam, where they were engaged for construction work. When they failed to arrive by December 10, their associates raised an alarm at the Hayuliang police station.
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“Hayuliang police then activated local sources to trace the missing workers. During the search, officers were alerted by a Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) camp that an injured man had reached the camp claiming his truck had crashed with 21 others on board. He was given first aid and later shifted to Assam via Tezu for advanced treatment”, he said.
Preliminary inquiry suggests the accident occurred on December 8 between 8pm and 9pm, around 11km from Chaglagam, when the vehicle skidded off the road and plunged into a deep gorge. With no mobile connectivity in the region, the tragedy went unreported for nearly two days.
Dwivedi said the survivor’s statement helped police narrow down the crash location, following which teams from the army, Border Roads Organisation (BRO), local police and district administration were mobilised for search and rescue. A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team has also been requisitioned.
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Officials have identified the deceased and missing as Rahul Kumar, Somir Deep, Arjun Kumar, Pankaj Manki, Ajay Manki, Bijay Kumar, Abhoy Bhumij, Rohit Manki, Birendra Kumar, Agor Tanti, Dhiren Chatriya, Rojoni Nag, Deep Gowala, Ramsebak Suna, Sonaton Nag, Sanjay Kumar, Karan Kumar and Junash Munda.
SP Dwivedi said 18 bodies have been recovered though navigating the deep gorge, where the vehicle skidded and fell, is posing major challenges.
Of the 22 labourers, 18 were residents of the Gilapukhuri Tea Estate in Tinsukia district of Assam, he said.
