Overview

• Heavy monsoon rains triggered a landslide that blocked both the normal and emergency tunnel entrances to NHPC’s underground power house at Ailagad near Dharchula in Pithoragarh.
• Authorities later confirmed that all 19 NHPC personnel who had been trapped were evacuated safely and accounted for the same day.
• Eight workers were brought out first, while 11 stayed inside in contact with officials and with food supplies as falling boulders repeatedly slowed debris clearance.
• District administration teams worked with the BRO, NDRF, SDRF, CISF and NHPC crews using heavy machinery to clear the portal and maintain access via a ventilation shaft.
• Across Uttarakhand, landslides also blocked parts of the Gangotri and Yamunotri highways, and the chief minister reported 1,747 of 1,827 obstructed roads reopened with work continuing on 80.