Tinsukia/Dibrugarh (Assam) | At least 14 people from Assam's Tinsukia district have been killed and seven others are missing as the truck they were travelling in fell into a gorge in Arunachal Pradesh, officials said on Thursday.
The incident took place on Hayuliang-Chaglagam Road in Anjaw district in the eastern part of the hill state earlier this week, Tinsukia District Commissioner Swapneel Paul told PTI.
"Around 11 am today, we received information that a vehicle had fallen into a gorge in Arunachal Pradesh's Anjaw district. Accordingly, we contacted the DCs of Anjaw and Teju for confirmation," he added.
"Both the DCs said that rescue teams have so far recovered 14 bodies and found one person alive. Seven more persons are still missing," Paul said.
He said that a team from Tinsukia, comprising circle officer and police personnel, have been dispatched to the neighbouring state to get more updates.
"They have reached Tezu and within 2-3 hours, we will be able to give more details," the Tinsukia DC added.
Tinsukia Circle Officer Jaideep Rajak, who is on the way to the spot, told PTI that the location is remote and the exact details will be known only after reaching the site.
"Initial reports indicated that the workers were engaged by a private contractor in a project in Hayuliang. They were travelling in a dumper that skidded off the road and fell nearly 1,000 feet into a deep gorge. Rescue operations are underway," he added.
Tinsukia Senior Superintendent of Police Mayank Kumar said that 22 labourers from the district had gone 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 added.
One of the workers, Budheswor Deep, managed to escape from the spot and called up his relatives on Wednesday morning. This phone call first alerted the families about the incident, Kumar said.
Apart from Deep, 18 more labourers, including the dead and the missing, have been identified. They are 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.
