Choppers to be deployed to trace missing workers in Arunachal

Dibrugarh: With ground rescue teams failing to trace the whereabouts of the 19 construction workers who went missing from the remote Kurung Kumey district of Arunachal Pradesh on July 5, the district administration has decided to deploy choppers for the search.
Kurung Kumey deputy commissioner Nighee Bengia on Wednesday said IAF choppers will be deployed in the area to trace the missing persons from Thursday provided the weather conditions remain good. The missing workers who hailed from Assam were engaged in the construction of a BRO road from Damin to Huri.
“Due to the harsh and difficult terrain, the rescue teams on the ground are finding it tough to trace the missing persons. Therefore, we have decided to deploy IAF choppers. The NDRF will also assist the SDRF in this mission which will be carried out both on land and in air. We will also enlist the help of locals who know the terrain well,” the DC said.
He said the medical team which was sent to carry out the post-mortem of a worker who was supposedly found dead in the Furak river, returned after they could not locate the body. “We got an information through WhatsApp that the body of a worker was recovered from Furak river which is a tributary of Kumey river. Accordingly, a medical team was sent to carry out a postmortem. After the team reached the spot they didn’t find the body. The person from Rupai village who claimed to have seen the body is now untraceable,” the DC said.
Meanwhile, Kurung Kumey SP Abhimanyu Poswal claimed that the workers fled their camps due to delay in payment of wages by the sub-contractors and lack of basic amenities in the camp.