A tunnel has filled with debris and water in the high-altitude district of Chamoli, and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is not waiting. On the evening of Thursday, 13 August 2026, the Chief Minister's Office confirmed that teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been rushed to the site of the incident inside a THDC tunnel at Pipalkoti — with orders to operate at war footing until every trapped person is out.

What happened inside the Pipalkoti tunnel

The incident involves the ingress of debris and water into a tunnel being executed by Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Limited (THDC) in Pipalkoti, Chamoli district. The Chief Minister's Office stated that CM Dhami expressed 'deep concern' (gahri chinta) over the gravity of the situation and immediately directed all relevant departments and agencies to launch a coordinated, rapid relief-and-rescue operation. The district administration has been looped in alongside central and state disaster forces.

Dhami confirmed he is in continuous contact with senior officials and is receiving minute-by-minute updates on ground conditions. 'The government's top priority is to safely evacuate every person trapped in the tunnel, and all necessary resources have been deployed toward that end,' the CM said.

Chamoli's geology and the THDC hydro project

Chamoli sits in the central Himalayas — seismically active, geologically fragile, and laced with long tunnels bored for run-of-river hydroelectric schemes. THDC, a central public-sector undertaking, is executing the Vishnugad-Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Project in this district. Long tunnels through Himalayan rock carry an inherent risk of water ingress and rockfall, and Uttarakhand's hydro corridor has seen recurrent incidents of this kind.

The state has a documented playbook for such events. After the Silkyara tunnel collapse of November 2023 in Uttarkashi, the Uttarakhand government deployed NDRF and SDRF and maintained direct Chief Minister-level monitoring until all 41 workers were rescued over 17 days. That episode reshaped how the state — and the country — thinks about tunnel safety in mountain terrain.

The rescue protocol now in motion

The standard operating procedure activated today mirrors that Silkyara template: immediate deployment of specialised disaster-response teams, unified command through the district administration, and real-time oversight from the Chief Minister's office. CM Dhami said the state government is 'monitoring the situation with complete sensitivity and promptness' and that every possible step is being taken as required.

He also offered a prayer for the safety of all those inside — a reminder that behind the administrative machinery are workers whose lives hang on how fast and how well the rescue moves.

The next critical markers are official updates on the number of persons trapped, any casualty figures, and whether THDC or the state government orders a safety audit or work suspension at this and other hydro tunnel sites in the region.