Overview
- A 21-year-old construction worker from Jharkhand was struck and killed by a fallen section of the tunnel’s concrete lining during work about 900 metres from the Barkot end on Thursday, July 16, 2026.
- District officials, led by Uttarkashi DM Prashant Arya, sent the SDM, Barkot, to the site and said the tunnel remained accessible with no other workers trapped.
- Accounts differ on whether the worker died at the scene or after being taken to Naugaon Hospital; authorities said a factual inquiry will resolve that detail.
- Colleagues stopped work and held protests calling for adequate compensation and improved safety measures while the NHIDCL and the contractor review site practices.
- The tunnel is a 4.5 km, two-lane NHIDCL project that drew intense scrutiny after a November 2023 collapse trapped 41 workers for 17 days, making today’s death likely to sharpen public and official attention on safety and oversight.