India tunnel collapse at hydropower project kills at least 20
What's new: Rescuers say methane gas and waterlogging inside the Sikkim tunnel have slowed body recovery and dimmed hopes of finding survivors.
At least 20 workers have died after a tunnel collapsed at an under-construction hydropower project in India's Himalayan state of Sikkim, where rescue teams were still trying to recover the remaining trapped men on Wednesday. Officials said 25 workers were trapped after a suspected methane-gas blast deep inside the tunnel on Monday. Rajiv Roka of the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority said 13 bodies had been recovered and rescuers had spotted seven or eight more that they could not yet retrieve. Water nearly 0.76 meters deep and toxic gas inside the tunnel have hampered operations. The tunnel is part of a state-run project on the Teesta River being developed by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation.