By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
Eighteen workers were rescued from a tunnel of 444 Mw Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydel project being constructed by THDC India ltd on Alaknanda river after its portion collapsed in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand on Thursday evening.
“Eighteen workers have been rescued and two-three are injured,” Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in Dehradun. However, he did not say how many workers were still trapped.
Earlier, officials received information around 7:05 pm that 22 workers were trapped inside the tunnel. The district administration, police, SDRF, CISF and other agencies immediately launched a rescue operation. Dhami said landslides might have occurred inside the tunnel.
Teams of the Army, ITBP, NDRF and SDRF were mobilised as efforts were underway to safely evacuate six workers who were still trapped, with all available resources and equipment being deployed.
Chief Minister Dhami has directed officials to conduct the rescue operation on a war footing and maintain close coordination among all agencies. He said the government’s top priority is to ensure the safe evacuation of every person trapped inside the tunnel.
The State and District Emergency Operation Centre is closely monitoring the situation, while the rescue operation was continuing.