10 of 19 Assam labourers who fled construction in Arunachal site rescued

A total of 10 labourers out of the 19 who went missing from a road construction site in Arunachal Pradesh's Kurung Kumey district, have so far been rescued, a senior official said on Monday.

Two labourers were rescued on Sunday from a jungle in the district in critical condition, Kurung Kumey DC Bengia Nighee said.

The two persons were taken to the Primary Health Centre, and could be later shifted to the Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Science (TRIHMS) at Naharlagun near here, or to the district hospital at Koloriang, Nighee said.

IAF choppers could not undertake the rescue operation on Sunday due to bad weather. It will be resumed on Monday depending on the weather condition, he said.

Land rescue operation will continue till all the missing persons are traced, he added.

The labourers, hailing from Assam, had fled the road construction site along the India-China border on July 5 after they were reportedly denied leave to go home. Following this, they took off for their homes on foot through jungles in two groups of eight and 11.

The workers have been missing since then.

Earlier, one of them was found on Saturday evening, while seven others were located by on Friday night between Huri and Furak under Damin circle of Kurung Kumey district, officials said.

Nighee said as per statements of the rescued labourers, two workers died after falling into the Furak River and one died on the way.

However, the rescue teams have neither recovered nor seen the bodies as of now, he said.