Dehradun, Aug 13 (PTI): Six people died and 14 sustained injuries on Thursday after water and debris entered a tunnel under construction at a hydroelectric project site in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, officials said.

According to preliminary information shared by the officials, 22 workers were trapped inside the tunnel. Twenty people have been brought out of the tunnel. Of them, six were declared dead, while 14 others have sustained injuries and are undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital.

Information about the remaining two workers was not immediately available.

The incident occurred at the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation (THDC) Limited's project site in the Pipalkoti area. The construction work is being carried out by the Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), the officials said.

Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan told PTI earlier that according to reports, several workers were trapped after water and debris entered the tunnel of the Pipalkoti hydroelectric project.

Police, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and other agencies rushed to the spot.

A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team from Rudraprayag was on the way to Pipalkoti to join the rescue operation. Indo-Tibetan Border Police and Army teams were also deployed. District Magistrate (DM) Gaurav Kumar reached the spot and was overseeing the entire operation, officials said.

In a post on X, Chief Minister Dhami expressed concern over the incident and directed all agencies to conduct relief and rescue operations on a war footing.

Vinod Kumar Suman, Secretary of Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Department, said the situation is being continuously monitored from emergency operation centres and additional teams will be deployed if needed. PTI DHM PRK

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