Manali: Under-construction tunnel collapses in Mandi

Manali: An under-construction tunnel near Shalanala in Mandi district collapsed on Thursday triggering rockslide on the national highway while one of the boulders damaged a car.

The tunnel management had already detected the fault in the tunnel and the officials and workers standing close to the site escaped unhurt during the collapse.

The vehicle that was hit by boulders was damaged completely, but its two occupants remained safe.

Shalanala tunnel is among the 10 to be built between Aut and Pandoh in Mandi as a part of four-laning of Kiratpur-Manali national highway. National Highway Authority of India has awarded the work of building of tunnels in Mandi to Afcons Infrastructure Ltd. The company in August had completed boring of 2.9km-long tunnel at Aut. The tunnel was completed five months before the deadline. Tunnels are being built in multiple stages at different places simultaneously. Part of one such tunnel has collapsed.

An official from Afcons — the firm building the tunnel — said the tunnel is under-construction and the portion which collapsed was unprotected. “Such incidents are common when it comes to tunnelling. We had already removed workers from the area. Everybody is safe,” he said.