Gopeshwar (Uttarakhand) | Seven workers died when water gushed inside a tunnel under construction at a hydroelectric project site in Chamoli district, officials said on Friday.

Search for three missing persons is currently underway, they said.

The incident occurred in a tunnel at Mayapur (Pipalkoti), when landslides and subsidence caused debris and water to fill half of the tunnel, trapping workers inside.

District Disaster Management Officer N K Joshi said 22 people were inside the tunnel at the time of the incident on Thursday.

Of them, 19 were rescued overnight, seven died, and a search for the three missing is on, he said.

According to a statement, the deceased were identified as Pradeep Singh Pawar of Tehri, Mukesh of Chamoli, Durlabh Sharma of Bihar, Vijay and Jitendra Kumar of Jharkhand, and Lokeshwar and Bhuneshwar, whose native place could not yet be ascertained.

The injured were taken to the Gopeshwar District Hospital.

Six rescue personnel entered the tunnel, which is still filled with water.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and the police are carrying out the rescue.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami landed at Pipalkoti in a helicopter to oversee operations.

District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar, who was at the site, has called for marshalling all resources needed to locate the missing persons.