22 Assam Labourers Feared Dead as Truck Falls into Gorge in Arunachal

Guwahati: At least 22 Assam labourers have been feared dead in a tragic road accident in Arunachal Pradesh after a truck plunged nearly 1,000 feet down a gorge on the Hayuliang-Chaglagam Road in Anjaw district on December 7. Police were alerted late Wednesday night and reached the site, following which search and rescue operations began on Thursday morning.

The truck was ferrying labourers to a construction site when the driver reportedly lost control on the hilly stretch, causing the vehicle to tumble into deep terrain. So far, 13 bodies have been recovered, while efforts continue to trace the remaining victims.

Authorities confirmed that 19 of the deceased labourers have been identified, all belonging to the Gelapukhuri Tea Estate in Tinsukia. The identified victims include Budheswar Deep, Rahul Kumar, Samir Deep, Joon Kumar, Pankaj Manki, Ajay Manki, Bijay Kumar, Abhay Bhumij, Rohit Manki, Birendra Kumar, Agar Tanti, Dhiren Chetia, Rajani Naag, Deep Gowala, Ramchabak Sonar, Sonatan Naag, Sanjay Kumar, Karan Kumar and Jonas Munda.

Local police, disaster response teams, and villagers are assisting in the ongoing rescue efforts in the remote and difficult terrain. The tragedy follows another recent incident on December 7, when six people died after a car rolled into a 600-foot gorge in Nashik’s Kalwan taluka, highlighting repeated accidents in hilly regions.

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