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The central government has announced the formation of a three-member committee to investigate the Ramban tunnel collapse case after 10 dead bodies were recovered from under the debris.
The committee comprises IIT-Delhi professor JT Shahu, MD of FGS Consultants Vinod Shukla, and a representative of the DG (BR).
The tunnel, which was under construction, had collapsed, and the bodies of 10 workers were found after a 36-hour-long rescue operation from the under-construction tunnel on Saturday.
The incident took place on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway in the Makerkote area of Ramban.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) took to Twitter to give the details of the incident, stating that the stretch between Khooni Nallah and Digdole was prone to landslides or shooting stones due to weak geology.
On 19 May, between 10:30-11 pm, "landslide and shooting of stones started while the execution of portal support installation work of adit at Khooni Nallah was also being done. Before workers could be moved out, suddenly huge rock mass fell above the false steel portal erected for construction of adit which caved in leading to trapping of 12 workers at that spot," the statement read.
All possible medical care is being provided to the two workers who were rescued and hospitalised, MORTH stated.
"The injured are also being adequately compensated, and in addition, the UT administration has announced ex-gratia relief of Rs 1 lakh," a statement said.
The cause behind the accident is yet to be ascertained – whether it happened due to natural causes or because work was underway in the region. Further action will be taken on the basis of the report prepared by the committee, the statement concluded.
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