TINSUKIA, 11 DEC

At least 21 people from Assam’s Tinsukia district have been confirmed dead and one person survived after the truck they were travelling in plunged into a deep gorge in Arunachal Pradesh, officials said on Thursday.

The incident occurred earlier this week on the remote Hayuliang–Chaglagam Road in Anjaw district in the eastern part of the state. Tinsukia Deputy Commissioner Swapneel Paul said that authorities were alerted around 11am, after which they contacted officials in Anjaw and Tezu for verification. Rescue teams have since recovered 18 bodies and found one survivor, while the search continues for the missing labourers.

A team comprising a circle officer and police personnel has been dispatched from Tinsukia to gather further details. The area is extremely remote, and officials expect clearer information once they reach the spot.

Preliminary reports suggest the labourers, employed by a private contractor, were travelling in a dumper lorry that skidded off the road and fell nearly 1,000 feet into a gorge.

Tinsukia Police Superintendent Mayank Kumar said 22 labourers from Dhelaghat in Gillapukri Tea Estate had gone to Arunachal Pradesh for hostel construction work. Of them, 21 are feared dead. One labourer, Budheswor Deep, survived and alerted families on Wednesday morning.