Guwahati: In a terrible mishap, 21 labourers were killed after their truck skidded off a narrow mountain road and fell into a deep gorge in Arunachal Pradesh’s Anjaw district on Thursday.
One of the workers escaped miraculously.
According to Anjaw superintendent of police (SP) Anurag Dwivedi, a group of 22 labourers had left Assam’s Tinsukia district on December 7 for Chaglagam, where they were engaged in construction work.
As they did not reach the construction site by December 10, their associates raised an alarm at Hayuliang police station.
“Hayuliang police then activated local sources to trace the missing workers. During the search, officers were alerted by a Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) camp that an injured man had reached the camp claiming his truck had crashed with 21 others on board. He was given first aid and later shifted to Assam via Tezu for advanced treatment,” the SP informed.
A truck carrying 22 labourers reportedly fell into a deep gorge between Hayuliang and Chakla, in the remote Chaglagam circle under Anjaw district. A rescue operation is currently underway, and efforts are on to contact authorities to know more about the incident. pic.twitter.com/rPGLnVvVXP
— DD News Arunachal (@DDNewsArunachal) December 11, 2025
The accident, which took place around 11 km from Chaglagam, is likely to have occurred between 8 pm and 9 pm on December 8, according to preliminary inquiry.
The accident went unreported for nearly two days due to lack of mobile connectivity in the remote hilly region.
The survivor’s statement helped police zero in on the accident site. Teams from the Army, Border Roads Organisation (BRO), local police and district administration were thereafter mobilised for search and rescue. A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team has also been requisitioned.
Most of the labourers were residents of Gilapukhuri Tea Estate in Tinsukia.
“As of now, 17 bodies have been found, and retrieval operations are under way. The terrain is extremely challenging, with the gorge nearly 700 metres deep,” Deputy SP Habung Sama said.
