Missing NEEPCO Employees Remain Untraced, No Improvement in Situation

A Correspondent

Haflong: Four missing persons, including three employees of the NEEPCO-run Kopili Hydro Electric Power, still remain untraced. Robert Baite, Prem Pal Balmiki, Joy Sing Timung (all Kopili Hydel project employees) and an employee of a firm went missing following a burst in a water tunnel near Umrangso early Monday morning which led to massive flooding in the power project site, resulting in heavy loss to NEEPCO. The fourth person is yet to be identified.

The burst in the water tunnel that carries water at 12,000 litres/sec from the NEEPCO reservoir to the Kopili Hydro Power Project site led to massive flooding and a water fountain that rose up to several hundred feet into the sky. People said they heard a deafening sound and then saw the water sprout.

Senior NEEPCO and Dima Hasao administration and police officials rushed to the spot to take the stock of the situation and to assess the rescue efforts. Dima Hasao Deputy Commissioner Amitabh Rajkhowa, while talking to this correspondent, said that the situation remained the same. People alleged that as the switch gate of the intake gate of the tunnel was not working, the rescue operations were in vain. The flow of water has not been controlled yet.

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