By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
Six workers were killed and 16 rescued after a portion of a tunnel of 444 Mw Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydel project being constructed by THDC India ltd on Alaknanda river collapsed following landslides in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand on Thursday evening.
The state operation emergency centre confirmed the death of six workers inside the tunnel. However, it was not yet clear whether the bodies have been retrieved.
Earlier, officials received information around 7 pm that 22 workers were trapped inside the tunnel. The district administration, police, SDRF, CISF and other agencies immediately launched a rescue operation.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh 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 the workers with all available resources and equipment being deployed.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami 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 Centres kept closely monitoring the situation. But shortly after midnight, the state operation emergency centre in Dehradun said the six trapped workers were dead inside the tunnel.