Arunachal crash kills 14 Tinsukia workers; one survivor battles on, 7 missing
A phone call from the lone survivor, Budheswor Deep, first alerted families & officials two days after the incident
Rescue teams at the spot where the truck fell into the gorge. (AT Photo)
Guwahati, Dec 11: At least 14 people from Assam’s Tinsukia district were killed and seven others reported missing after the truck they were travelling in plunged into a deep gorge in Arunachal Pradesh’s Anjaw district on the night of December 8.
The tragedy occurred on the Hayuliang–Chaglagam Road in the eastern part of the hill state, Tinsukia Deputy Commissioner Swapneel Paul told the press.
“Both the DCs of Anjaw and Tezu have confirmed that rescue teams have so far recovered 14 bodies and found one person alive. Seven more persons are still missing,” he said.
Tinsukia Senior Superintendent of Police Mayank Kumar said 22 labourers from the district had travelled to Arunachal Pradesh for the construction of a hostel.
“They were from Dhelaghat of Gillapukri Tea Estate. Out of the 22 people in the dumper, 21 are reportedly dead,” he said.
The lone survivor has been identified as Budheswor Deep, who managed to call his relatives on Wednesday morning. “This phone call first alerted the families about the incident,” SSP Kumar said.
Anjaw SP Anurag Dwivedi said Deep has been sent to Assam for treatment. “We have sent the one injured to Assam. All the teams are here and there are no survivors. Once the NDRF team reaches here, we will again restart the rescue operations,” he told a local news portal.
Apart from Deep, 18 other labourers, including the deceased and missing, have been identified as Rahul Kumar, Somir Deep, Arjun Kumar, Pankaj Manki, Ajay Manki, Bijay Kumar, Abhoy Bhumij, Rohit Manki, Birendra Kumar, Agor Tanti, Dhiren Chatriya, Rojoni Nag, Deep Gowala, Ramsebak Suna, Sonaton Nag, Sanjay Kumar, Karan Kumar and Junash Munda.
Rescue teams at the site of the truck’s fall into the gorge. (Video credit: Divinity Jaagran News)
DC Paul said a team from Tinsukia, including a circle officer and police personnel, has been dispatched to Arunachal Pradesh for further details. “They have reached Tezu and within 2–3 hours, we will be able to give more details,” he said, at the time of filing this report.
Tinsukia Circle Officer Jaideep Rajak, currently en route to the site, said the location is extremely remote and a clearer picture will emerge only after reaching the spot.
Initial reports suggest the workers were engaged by a private contractor in a project at Hayuliang and were travelling in a dumper truck that skidded off the road and plunged nearly 1,000 feet into a gorge (See video below).
The crash site at the bottom of the gorge. (Video credit: Divinity Jaagran News)
“Around 11 am today, we received information that a vehicle had fallen into a gorge in Arunachal Pradesh’s Anjaw district,” Paul added.
Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has expressed deep sorrow over the death of 14 people from the state.
In a social media post he said he is “deeply pained” by the loss of lives and assured that the Assam government is closely monitoring the situation.
"...Our district administration is in touch with relevant authorities in Arunachal Pradesh and all necessary assistance is being provided. Relief and rescue teams are prioritising locating missing or unaccounted people at the earliest. We are also ensuring that medical help is provided to those in need. My thoughts and prayers are with the grieving families in this tough time," the post read.
With inputs from PTI