A 21-year-old construction worker died after a section of the concrete lining collapsed inside the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel in Uttarkashi
July 16, 2026: A 21-year-old construction worker from Jharkhand was killed after a section of the concrete lining inside the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel collapsed in Uttarkashi district during the early hours of Thursday. According to District Magistrate Prashant Arya, the incident occurred around 2 a.m., nearly 900 metres from the Barkot side of the 4.5-km-long tunnel, when a heavy portion of the tunnel’s concrete shotcrete lining fractured and fell on the worker.
Officials said the worker suffered fatal injuries after being struck by the debris and died at the spot. The administration confirmed that no other workers were trapped in the collapse and that the tunnel remained accessible. Senior district officials have been directed to inspect the site and submit a detailed report on the incident.
The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the structural failure. The Silkyara tunnel had previously drawn global attention in November 2023, when a major collapse trapped 41 workers inside for 17 days before they were rescued in a complex multi-agency operation involving specialised rat-hole miners.