Death toll reaches 25 after India tunnel blast

DPAThu, July 23, 2026 at 5:06 PM UTC1 min readAdd Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.

The death toll from a deadly gas explosion at a tunnel construction site in north-eastern India has risen to 25, three days after the incident.

An official from the district of Namchi in the state of Sikkim confirmed on Thursday that the bodies of all 25 people who had been trapped inside the tunnel had been recovered.

The official said the last three bodies were brought out in the afternoon, with the overall rescue operation having taken 72 hours.

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The accident occurred on Monday. According to public utility company NHPC, there was a "sudden, explosive release of methane gas presumably trapped in the rock." Dense smoke and toxic gases were produced as a result.

NHPC had commissioned the tunnel as part of a hydroelectric power plant. A company spokesman disputed reports that the tunnel had collapsed due to a landslide caused by the explosion. An investigation is to determine the exact cause of the accident.