21 labourers from Assam feared dead after truck falls into gorge in Arunachal

Dibrugarh: As many as 21 labourers from Assam are feared dead after their vehicle tumbled down a gorge on the Hayuliang-Chaglagam Road in Arunachal Pradesh on December 7.

Police received information on Wednesday night and reached the spot.

According to police, a search operation began on Thursday morning.

The truck fell at least 1,000 feet down.

Reports say the dump truck was ferrying labourers to a construction site in Arunachal Pradesh.

Of the labourers, 19 have been identified, all from Gelapukhuri Tea Estate in Tinsukia. Their names are: Budheswar Deep, Rahul Kumar, Samir Deep, Joon Kumar, Pankaj Manki, Ajay Manki, Bijay Kumar, Abhay Bhumij, Rohit Manki, Birendra Kumar, Agar Tanti, Dhiren Chetia, Rajani Naag, Deep Gowala, Ramchabak Sonar, Sonatan Naag, Sanjay Kumar, Karan Kumar, and Jonas Munda.

Sources said 14 bodies have been recovered so far.

Tinsukia Superintendent of Police Mayank Kumar confirmed that the labourers were from Tinsukia district and had gone to Arunachal Pradesh for the construction of a hostel.

Deputy Commissioner Swapnil Paul said, “At around 11 am, we received information that a vehicle had fallen into a gorge in Anjaw district. Accordingly, we contacted the DCs of Anjaw and Tezu for confirmation.”

He added, “Both the deputy commissioners of Anjaw and Tezu said that the rescue team has so far recovered 14 bodies and one person alive. Seven others are still missing.”

“We have sent a team from Tinsukia comprising Circle Officers and police personnel. They have reached Tezu, and within 2–3 hours, we will be able to coordinate further from our district administration,” he said.

Attempts to contact Anjaw SP Anurag Dwivedi were unsuccessful as the calls went unanswered.