Search operation ends in Anjaw truck accident, 20 bodies recovered
Anjaw Deputy Commissioner Millo Kojin said that after four days of intense efforts by disaster response teams, 20 bodies were found and one survivor was rescued by Sunday.
The search and rescue operation, which started on December 11, officially ended at 10 am on Monday after a comprehensive combing of the crash site near Lailiang, about 40 km from Hayuliang subdivision, the DC said in an official order.
It was earlier estimated that there were 22 workers in the ill-fated vehicle, but a communication from senior superintendent of police in Assam’s Tinsukia district on Sunday confirmed that only 21 people, including the driver, were in the mini-truck.
The accident occurred on the night of December 8, when a mini truck carrying 21 workers from Assam’s Tinsukia district fell into a deep valley on the Hayuliang-Chaglagam road. The incident only came to light on the evening of December 10, after one of the injured survivors managed to reach the nearby Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) labor camp and alerted the authorities.
Following the report, a large-scale rescue operation was launched with the participation of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indian Army, BRTF, local police and district administration.
Despite extremely difficult terrain and weather conditions, rescue teams successfully removed 20 bodies from the gorge, while one worker survived the accident. The district administration, in a separate order, confirmed that the NDRF team has completed the task assigned to it and has been released from duty with immediate effect after completion of legal formalities and handing over of all the bodies to the district administration and thereafter to the relatives of the deceased.
The deputy commissioner, who is also the chairman of the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), received record appreciation for the professionalism, dedication and coordinated response of all the agencies involved in the operation, which was carried out under extremely difficult conditions.
The district administration also expressed its condolences to the families of those who lost their lives.
