At least 21 labourers were killed and one man survived after a truck carrying them slid off a narrow mountain road and fell into a deep gorge near Metengliang in Arunachal Pradesh’s Anjaw district. The accident took place on December 8, but the incident came to light only two days later when the lone survivor managed to reach a Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) camp and inform officials.
According to Anjaw Superintendent of Police Anurag Dwivedi, a group of 22 labourers had left Assam’s Tinsukia district on December 7 for Chaglagam, where they were employed for construction work. When they failed to reach their destination by December 10, their colleagues reported the matter to the Hayuliang police station.
Police then activated local contacts to trace the missing workers. During the search, officers received information from a BRTF camp that an injured man had arrived there claiming that the truck he was travelling in had crashed, carrying 21 other workers. He was given first aid and later moved to Assam via Tezu for advanced treatment.
Preliminary investigation suggests the accident occurred between 8 pm and 9 pm on December 8, around 11 km from Chaglagam, when the vehicle skidded off the road and plunged into a steep valley. Due to the lack of mobile connectivity in the area, the tragedy remained unreported for nearly two days.
The survivor’s account helped authorities pinpoint the likely crash site. Following this, teams from the Army, Border Roads Organisation (BRO), local police, and district administration launched a search and rescue operation. An NDRF team has also been requisitioned for assistance.
“As of now, 17 bodies have been located, and efforts are underway to retrieve them. The terrain is extremely difficult, with the gorge nearly 700 metres deep,” said DySP Habung Sama, adding that the case is being treated as an accident.
Officials also confirmed that 18 of the 22 labourers were residents of the Gilapukhuri Tea Estate in Assam’s Tinsukia district.
