Major Tunnel Accident in Uttarakhand: Two Loco Trains Collide Inside Chamoli Hydropower Project, 70 Injured

Two Loco Trains Collide Inside Chamoli Tunnel, Dozens Hurt in Hydropower Project.

In a serious industrial accident that has once again raised concerns over tunnel safety in Uttarakhand, two locomotive trolley trains collided late Tuesday night, December 30, 2025, inside the Pipalkoti tunnel of the under-construction 444-MW Vishnugad-Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Project in Chamoli district, leaving around 60 to 70 workers injured but fortunately causing no loss of life.

The collision occurred at around 9:30 PM during a shift change on a single-track tunnel section, when a locomotive carrying nearly 109 workers and officials rammed into another trolley transporting construction materials, triggering panic in the dark and confined underground passage. While most workers sustained minor injuries, officials confirmed that at least four to five suffered fractures due to the impact.

Emergency response teams acted swiftly, with 42 injured workers admitted to the district hospital in Gopeshwar and another 17 taken to Vivekananda Hospital in Pipalkoti, where District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar confirmed that all the injured are in stable condition. Clarifying the nature of the incident, Indian Railways stated that the locomotives involved were not part of the national railway network but were privately operated trolley systems used internally for tunnel logistics by the project authorities.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed deep concern over the accident and directed the administration to ensure the best possible medical care and support for the affected workers, while project authorities have launched a formal enquiry to ascertain whether technical malfunction or human error during the shift transition led to the crash.

The incident has revived memories of the Silkyara tunnel collapse of late 2023 and intensified scrutiny over safety protocols in large-scale tunnel and hydropower projects across the fragile Himalayan region.