UKHRUL: According to a report by the Hindu, eighteen people have been confirmed dead while three others remain unaccounted for in Arunachal Pradesh.
The truck carrying 22 labourers from Assam’s Tinsukia district plunged nearly 200 metres into a gorge in Arunachal Pradesh’s Anjaw district on Thursday (December 11)
According to Defence spokesperson Lt. Col. Mahendra Rawat, the Army initiated a large-scale search and rescue mission in the Chaglagam area early Thursday (December 11).
Information was received late Wednesday night about the vehicle accident along Hayuliang–Chaglagam Road.
The sole survivor trekked to a General Engineer Force (GREF) camp and stated that the truck carrying 22 workers went off a cliff on Monday (December 8)
The Indian Army took on X (formerly Twitter) citing multiple rescue teams, including medical personnel, have been deployed in the high-altitude area.
Along with the Army, teams from GREF, the local police, and the National Disaster Response Force joined the operation. Eighteen bodies have been recovered so far after hours of search efforts.
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“The terrain is extremely challenging, and the site cannot be seen from helicopters or the road above due to thick vegetation. Bodies are being retrieved with the help of belay ropes,” Rawat told The Hindu.
Anjaw Superintendent of Police Anurag Dwivedi said the labourers had left Tinsukia on December 7 for Chaglagam, where they were scheduled to work at a construction site.
Their colleagues approached Hayuliang police after the group failed to arrive by December 10.
A district official told The Hindu that they are questioning a subcontractor associated with a Chaglagam Zila Parishad member to verify the workers’ records and the exact number hired.
The survivor maintained that 22 labourers had been recruited for the project.
Rescue teams will continue searching for the three missing workers, though progress has been slow due to the steep terrain, the official said.
Police in Assam’s Tinsukia district have set up a task force to assist and coordinate with the families of those confirmed or presumed dead.