TARBELA: Water entered a tunnel and the powerhouse of Tarbela Dam 5th Extension Hydropower Project (T-5) construction site after a weak section of rock fell during excavation on Monday.
In a statement, the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) confirmed that all workers were safely evacuated following the water inflow incident.
A Wapda spokesperson said the rock fell during excavation of the second bench of the connecting tunnel at the fifth extension project. Water then flowed from the intake pit into the tunnel and the power house. All workers were immediately evacuated.
The spokesperson said water had been completely drained from the intake pit and that dewatering of the under-construction power house had also begun. No further water was entering the work sites on the downstream side, the spokesperson added.
Senior Wapda officers, consultants and the contractor are assessing the situation so that any challenge facing the project can be addressed, the spokesperson said.
The official dismissed reports circulating that Tunnel 5 had collapsed as incorrect, saying the project’s main tunnel, the under-construction power house, the tail race culvert and the switchyard had suffered no damage.
Water enters Tarbela powerhouse after rockfall, all workers safely evacuated
Separately, the Haripur deputy commissioner said a part of the protective embankment at the T5 project intake broke after a girder fell.
The deputy commissioner said all foreign and Pakistani workers had been evacuated safely, adding that one local worker who was submerged in the tunnel was pulled out by locals.
Sources said work at the Tarbela T5 project in Haripur had been suspended for an indefinite period after the incident.
Meanwhile, the Wapda has issued a notification regarding discharges downstream of Tarbela Dam in the Indus River.
According to the notification, discharges will be more than 150,000 cusecs round the clock.
The notification, issued for the information of all concerned, said that all necessary precautionary arrangements should be made, keeping in view the safety of the public at large.
