Two dead in a mudslide at Sivok-Rangpo rail project site
Two laborers died and five were injured in an accident during tunneling operation for the Sivok-Rangpo rail line project in Kalimpong District of West Bengal, a senior police officer said on Friday. "Rock and mudslide occurred during tunneling work at Bhalu Khola in the Melli Police Station area on Thursday night," Kalimpong's Superintendent of Police Harekrishna Pai said.
Continuous rain toppled a layer of the tunnel
"Due to continuous rain, strata of tunnel face on the Bhalu Khola side toppled. This resulted in two deaths and five more were injured," said another senior police officer of Kalimpong who was familiar with the matter. "All the seven trapped laborers were taken to the district hospital, where two of them were declared brought dead," Pai said.
Two injured persons are being treated at NBMCH in Siliguri
"While two of the injured persons were sent to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) in Siliguri, the rest three who suffered minor injuries were under treatment at the district hospital," Pai said.
The two deceased laborers were from Jharkhand
"The deceased were identified as Saiku Murmu and Naresh Soren of Jharkhand," Pai said. "The injured were Sufal Hembram, Sukeswar Singh, Thakur Das and Ashok Singh from Jharkhand and Kundan Singh from Chapra in Bihar. Hembram and Das were referred to NBMCH," he added. The new railway line from West Bengal's Sivok to Sikkim's Rangpo will connect the Himalayan state to country's railway network.
The rail line project costs around Rs. 4,058 crore
With a stretch of 44.98km, the rail line is getting constructed at an estimated cost of Rs. 4,058 crore, which was sanctioned in 2015. The tender for the construction of the rail line has been given to IRCON.
