Rock fall floods Tarbela tunnel 5, workers evacuated unhurt
WAPDA says the intake pit is drained and pumping continues at the unfinished powerhouse, while Haripur's deputy commissioner orders an inquiry into the breach.
HARIPUR: Water broke into Tunnel No. 5 at the Tarbela Dam's fifth extension hydropower project on Monday morning after a weak section of rock gave way, prompting the evacuation of Pakistani and foreign workers. WAPDA and Haripur police said no one was killed.
Haripur Deputy Superintendent of Police Masood Khan told Independent Urdu that work was going on inside Tunnel No. 5 with a body of water stored behind it. A barrier gave way on Monday morning and water rushed into the tunnel, he said. All Pakistani and foreign employees inside were moved to a safe place with police help.
WAPDA's spokesman gave a more specific cause: a weak section of rock fell during excavation of the second bench of the project's connecting tunnel, letting water from the intake pit into the tunnel and the powerhouse. He rejected reports that Tunnel No. 5 had collapsed and said the main tunnel, the powerhouse under construction, the tail race culvert and the switchyard were undamaged.
The intake pit has been fully drained, the spokesman said, and pumping has begun at the unfinished powerhouse. No more water is entering worksites downstream, he said. Senior WAPDA officers, the project's consultants and the contractor are at the site reviewing the situation.
Haripur Deputy Commissioner Waseem Ahmed went to the site with rescue and administrative teams and confirmed that the protective barrier had broken. According to Aaj News, he said a Pakistani worker was carried off by the fast flow and was rescued by emergency teams, and that no loss of life had been reported. He said a high-level inquiry committee will determine whether the breach came from a structural weakness or a technical fault, and that the next step will be decided after its report.
Aaj News also reported that all construction work on the project has been suspended indefinitely.
Haripur police said a final report on damage to infrastructure has not yet been compiled.
The fifth extension is built on Tunnel No. 5 and adds 1,530 MW through three units of 510 MW, raising the dam's installed capacity from 4,888 MW to 6,418 MW, according to the Ministry of Energy. Independent Urdu put the project's funding at about Rs82 billion from the World Bank's International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, with civil works contracted to Power China and completion first targeted for 2024.
Aaj News reported the approved cost at $807 million, with $390 million from the World Bank and $300 million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and a $354.6 million civil works contract awarded in May 2021 to Power Construction Corporation of China Ltd. It said the completion date has been pushed to September 2027, that a Senate standing committee was told in September 2024 that securing an IRSA no-objection certificate to close Tunnel No. 5 had caused delay, and that work was stopped temporarily in August 2025 when the dam's water level rose.
How the reports differ
Independent Urdu led with Haripur police and WAPDA's spokesman, and reported no injury or loss of life. Aaj News led with Deputy Commissioner Waseem Ahmed's visit to the site, and alone reported that one Pakistani worker was swept away by the water and rescued, and that all construction work has been suspended indefinitely; Independent Urdu did not mention a suspension. The two gave different project figures: Independent Urdu put the funding at about Rs82 billion from the World Bank's IBRD with a 2024 completion target, while Aaj News reported an approved cost of $807 million with World Bank and AIIB contributions and a completion date pushed to September 2027. Both carried WAPDA's denial that Tunnel No. 5 had collapsed.
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