21 feared dead as truck plunges into 700m gorge in Arunachal

ITanagar: xviii labourers from Assam’s Tinsukia were killed and triplet others were reported missing after a motortruck carrying them skidded away a contract mountain road and fell nearly 700 metres into a 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 Tinsukia district on December 7 for Chaglagam, near the India-China border, 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.Hayuliang police then mobilised 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, Budheswor Deep, 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 advance treatment.Preliminary inquiry suggests the accident took place on December 8 between 8pm and 9pm, around 11km from Chaglagam when the vehicle skidded off the road and plunged into a deep valley. With no mobile connectivity in the region, the tragedy went unreported for nearly two days.The Indian Army has launched a large-scale rescue operation after receiving information of the accident.Defence PRO Lt Col Mahendra Rawat said the accident site, about 12km short of Chaglagam, lies in extremely rugged terrain and had not been reported by any local agency or contractor until the survivor surfaced. On Thursday morning, the Army’s Spear Corps mobilised multiple rescue columns, medical teams, GREF personnel, local police, NDRF teams and the Hayuliang additional deputy commissioner.After four hours of intensive search involving rope descent, rescuers spotted the wreckage around 200 metres below the road, hidden by dense forest cover. The Anjaw district administration has also requisitioned SDRF personnel, while the ADC is questioning the sub-contractor of the Zilla Parishad Member (ZPM), Chaglagam, to verify details of those engaged for the project.Rawat said the Army and civil agencies are continuing efforts despite “harsh terrain and poor visibility.”Officials have identified the deceased and the 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.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.SP Dwivedi said 18 bodies have been spotted and retrieval work is ongoing, though the deep gorge is posing major challenges.According to officials, 18 of the 22 labourers were residents of the Gilapukhuri Tea Estate in Assam’s Tinsukia district.Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday expressed his condolences over the deaths in the Arunachal accident, and said both states were working closely to locate the people who have been missing, according to PTI report.Sarma said that he is deeply pained by the passing away of the people from Assam in the accident.“Our district administration is in touch with relevant authorities in Arunachal Pradesh and all necessary assistance is being provided,” he said in a post on X.“We are also ensuring that medical help is provided to those in need. My thoughts and prayers are with the grieving families in this tough time,” Sarma said in the post, tagging his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu.