Rescue teams have recovered six bodies from a deep gorge in Arunachal Pradesh’s Anjaw district following a mini-truck accident that involved labourers from Assam, police said on Friday.

A joint operation by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Army began at dawn, navigating difficult terrain about 40 km from Hayuliang towards Chaglagam. Anjaw Superintendent of Police Anurag Dwivedi described the retrieval as “extremely difficult” due to the gorge’s depth.

Authorities reported that 18 bodies have been spotted at the site, with searches for the remaining three missing individuals scheduled to continue after recovering the visible ones. Rescue operations are set to resume Saturday morning.

The accident occurred on the evening of December 8, involving 22 labourers from Tezpur district in Assam who were travelling in a privately owned mini-truck hired by a contractor. One survivor managed to climb out of the gorge on December 10 evening and alerted a nearby Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) camp, prompting immediate action.

State Disaster Management Secretary Dani Salu said a nighttime rescue on December 10 was deemed unsafe due to the terrain and weather. A coordinated effort involving the Army, BRTF, police, and district officials was launched the following day. Identities of the 18 recovered victims have been confirmed, and the private contractor is under police questioning.

Chief Minister Pema Khandu expressed grief over the incident and commended the Army, Border Roads Organisation (BRO), NDRF, and local administration for their prompt response under challenging conditions.