Body of Kerala’s Kottayam native missing in Sikkim tunnel accident recovered

| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The body of a geologist from Kottayam district in Kerala who went missing after a landslide inside an under-construction tunnel in Sikkim has been recovered.The deceased has been identified as Aneesh Mohan, 43, of Pathazhakkuzhy, Velloor, near Pampady, in Kottayam. Family members, who travelled to Sikkim, have identified his body. According to relatives, the body was discovered around Wednesday midnight (July 22, 2026) and will be flown to New Delhi after a postmortem examination. From New Delhi, it will be brought to his ancestral house near Pampady via Nedumbassery.A Senior Manager and Geologist with the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), Aneesh had been working at the organisation for the past 16 years. Posted to Sikkim from Haryana seven months ago, he was part of the team tasked with assessing the rock strata at the tunnel construction site, including their geological stability and water content.July 20 accidentThe accident occurred on Monday (July 20, 2026) inside a 7-km-long tunnel which was under construction in Namchi district as part of Stage IV of the Teesta Hydroelectric Project.The family learnt about the incident after an NHPC official contacted the Head of the Department of Geology at Government College, Kottayam, where Aneesh had studied, seeking the family’s contact details. The NHPC officials also informed Aneesh’s brother, Bineesh, who is based in Abu Dhabi, and subsequently arranged for Aneesh’s wife, Sangeetha, and Bineesh to travel from New Delhi to Sikkim by air.Aneesh completed his Bachelor’s degree in Geology from Government College, Kottayam, between 2001 and 2004, and obtained his Master’s degree from the same institution between 2004 and 2006. He joined the NHPC in Haryana in 2011 and had been living there with his family before being posted to Sikkim.He is survived by his wife, Dr. Sangeetha, children Arnav and Karthyayani, who are now residing in Tripunithura; and his parents, P.K. Mohanan and Amminikutty. Published - July 23, 2026 03:30 pm IST