Overview
- A 21-year-old construction worker from Jharkhand was killed when a heavy section of the tunnel's shotcrete concrete lining fractured and fell about 900 metres from the Barkot entrance.
- Officials say the collapse happened around 2 am on Thursday and no other workers were trapped, with the tunnel remaining accessible after the incident.
- Uttarkashi District Magistrate Prashant Arya ordered the SDM, Barkot, to inspect the site, submit a detailed report and begin compensation procedures for the bereaved family.
- The implementing agency, NHIDCL, has launched a formal investigation and is preparing a factual report, and authorities say the exact structural cause will be confirmed only after the inquiry.
- The Silkyara tunnel, a 4.5 km NHIDCL project linked to the Char Dham route, was the site of a major November 2023 collapse that trapped 41 workers and has since been under heightened safety scrutiny.