At least 21 labourers from Assam’s Tinsukia district were confirmed dead after the mini truck they were travelling in skidded off the road and plunged into a deep gorge in Arunachal Pradesh’s Anjaw district, as per media reports.
The tragic incident, which involved a total of 22 workers, occurred on the night of December 8 on the remote Hayuliang–Chaglagam road near the China border. The crash was discovered late on Wednesday, December 10, only after the lone survivor managed to climb out and alert officials at a nearby GREF camp.
The Indian Army, NDRF, and local administration have launched a major, difficult search and retrieval operation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his grief and announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased and ₹50,000 for the injured.
Two-Day Delay Due to Lack of Connectivity
The victims were daily-wage construction workers from the Gilapukhuri Tea Estate in Tinsukia, Assam, who were travelling to Chaglagam for a construction project. The Anjaw SP confirmed media the group had failed to arrive by December 10, prompting an alarm.
The accident likely occurred on the night of December 8, when the truck skidded off the road near KM 40. The sheer remoteness of the high-altitude location, coupled with the complete lack of mobile connectivity, meant the tragedy remained unreported for over 48 hours.
This critical communication gap significantly delayed the launch of any immediate rescue efforts, worsening the scale of the disaster.
Survivor’s Heroic Alert
The tragic circumstances were brought to light reportedly by the lone survivor, Budheswor Deep (23), who sustained injuries but achieved a remarkable feat: he managed to climb nearly 200 metres out of the deep ravine. Deep then trekked approximately four kilometres to reach a nearby General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) camp, alerting officials late on Wednesday.
Following his crucial information, the Indian Army’s Spear Corps immediately mobilised multiple search columns, medical teams, GREF, local police, and an NDRF team. Deep has been evacuated to Assam Medical College and Hospital, Dibrugarh, for further treatment.
Rescue Efforts Underway
Rescue teams, including Army and police personnel, descended into the gorge on Thursday and located the mangled truck wreckage about 200 metres below the road. Defence PRO Lt Col M Rawat confirmed that 19 bodies were sighted at the inaccessible site, which is hidden by dense tree cover.
Retrieval efforts are extremely challenging due to the steep terrain and the mangled state of the wreckage, requiring technical rope descent and specialised equipment.
The NDRF team from Dibrugarh, equipped with technical expertise, has reached the area to resume the complex operation on Friday morning to retrieve the bodies and continue the search for the two remaining missing individuals.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
This devastating accident, which claimed the lives of migrant labourers working on an essential border road project, is a tragic reminder of the safety deficits and communication gaps in India’s remote infrastructural development zones.
The two-day delay in reporting the incident, caused by poor mobile connectivity, underscores how easily a road accident can escalate into a mass tragedy in such regions.
