Kerala geologist Anish Mohan's body recovered from Sikkim tunnel after 3-day search
Geologist Anish Mohan's body was recovered on Thursday after a three-day rescue operation following a tunnel collapse and suspected methane explosion at Sikkim's NHPC Teesta Stage-IV project.
Geologist Anish Mohan's body was recovered on Thursday after a three-day rescue operation following a tunnel collapse and suspected methane explosion at Sikkim's NHPC Teesta Stage-IV project.
Geologist Anish Mohan's body was recovered on Thursday after a three-day rescue operation following a tunnel collapse and suspected methane explosion at Sikkim's NHPC Teesta Stage-IV project.
Kottayam: The body of Kerala geologist Anish Mohan, who had been trapped inside the collapsed tunnel of the NHPC Teesta Stage-IV hydroelectric project in South Sikkim, was recovered in the early hours of Thursday after an intensive three-day rescue operation.
The body was located at around 1.30 am and was later identified by Anish's relatives. It will be handed over to the family after completion of autopsy and other legal formalities, before being brought to Kerala.
Anish, 43, a Senior Geologist (Remote Sensing) with NHPC and a native of Illivalavu in Manarcad, Kottayam, went missing on Monday after an explosion and tunnel collapse at the under-construction Head Race Tunnel (HRT) at Samardung in South Sikkim.
Rescue efforts had continued round the clock despite severe challenges posed by toxic gases, waterlogging and debris inside the tunnel. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), NHPC, local authorities and other agencies were involved in the operation.
On Wednesday, the bodies of the three consultants who had entered the tunnel along with Anish were recovered and identified. Anish remained untraceable until rescuers recovered his body in the early hours of Thursday.
According to his family, Anish was not originally scheduled to enter the tunnel. He had been asked to accompany a team of consultants and civil engineers who wanted to inspect the site on the day of the accident.
The explosion occurred at around 1.04 pm on July 20, when a suspected release of methane gas trapped inside the rock triggered a blast, filling the tunnel with dense fumes and toxic gases, according to NHPC. The company had earlier announced an ex gratia payment of ₹5 lakh to the next of kin of each person who died in the incident.
Anish had been working with NHPC since 2011. He had recently been transferred from Haryana to Sikkim, while his wife, Sangeetha, had returned to Tripunithura, Kerala, for the birth of their second child. His parents, Mohanan and Amminikutty, live in Manarcad, Kottayam.