A rock mass collapsed at the Tarbela Dam extension site on Monday, and water rushed into a tunnel and the powerhouse area under construction. Work stopped at once, an emergency was declared, and every worker was moved to safety. No one died and no one was hurt.
What Happened at Tarbela T-5
The collapse took place during digging work on the 2nd Bench Connecting Tunnel, part of the Tarbela 5th Extension Hydropower Project, known as T-5. A weak rock mass gave way, and water from the Intake Pit poured into the tunnel and the powerhouse area.
The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) said the water from the Intake Pit has now been drained out fully. No more water is entering the work sites downstream, and pumping out water from the powerhouse has started.
Wapda also pushed back against reports going around about the T-5 tunnel itself collapsing. The authority said the main tunnel, the powerhouse under construction, the tailrace culvert and the switchyard were not damaged.
Senior officers from Wapda, the project engineer and the contractor are now checking the tunnel, the powerhouse and other structures in the work area for any damage. Haripur Deputy Commissioner Waseem Ahmed visited the site after the incident and confirmed that water had entered the tunnel when the protective bund gave way.
Workers Safe, No Casualties Reported
Every worker was evacuated safely as soon as the water came in. Both Pakistani and foreign workers were moved to safe places by the administration and rescue teams.
One Pakistani worker was swept into the water as the tunnel flooded, but emergency teams rescued him. Officials confirmed that no casualties were reported in the incident.
A senior district administration official said there is no threat of flooding in areas downstream of Tarbela at present. Even so, Swabi Deputy Commissioner Nasarullah Khan said extra water had to be released from Tarbela Dam for unavoidable reasons, and the flow and level of the Indus River are expected to rise.
He asked citizens to stay away from the river completely and avoid bathing, swimming and boating in the Indus until further notice. He also urged people not to pay attention to rumours and to follow official pages for correct information.
Construction and development work on the T-5 project has been suspended indefinitely, and a high-level inquiry has been ordered. The inquiry will look into how the protective bund failed and whether a structural weakness or a technical fault caused it. Officials said the next course of action will be decided after the inquiry report comes in.
T-5 Project Already Behind Schedule
Tarbela is Pakistan’s biggest dam, so any trouble at the site matters for the whole country. The T-5 project is meant to add 1,530 megawatts of power to the dam through three units of 510 megawatts each. Once finished, it would raise Tarbela’s total capacity from 4,888 megawatts to 6,418 megawatts and produce about 1.347 billion units of electricity every year.
But the project has a troubled history. It was originally due to finish in 2026, and it is already years behind that target. In July this year, a government inquiry held all three key sides — the contractor, the consultant and the employer, Wapda — responsible for an earlier collapse of the cofferdam at the same project. The inquiry pointed to design changes made after the contract was signed without approval as one of the main reasons.
That earlier collapse added at least two years of delay and pushed the cost up by more than 285 per cent, from Rs82 billion to Rs317 billion. The project is funded with about $700 million in loans from the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. Work was also stopped for a time in August 2025, when rising reservoir levels and higher water inflows sent water into the construction site.
Monday’s incident is the latest setback for a project that was already struggling. The inquiry ordered now will decide what happens next — and whether the new target dates for completion can still hold.
Key Facts
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| Incident | Rock mass collapse during excavation of 2nd Bench Connecting Tunnel |
| Date | Monday, 9 November 2026 |
| Site | Tarbela Dam 5th Extension (T-5) Project, Swabi–Haripur |
| Water entry | Intake Pit water entered tunnel and under-construction powerhouse |
| Workers | All evacuated safely; one worker swept into water, rescued |
| Casualties | None reported — no deaths, no injuries |
| Damage | Main tunnel, powerhouse, tailrace culvert, switchyard NOT damaged (Wapda) |
| Work status | Construction suspended indefinitely; emergency declared |
| Downstream | No flood threat at present; extra water released into Indus River |
| Inquiry | High-level inquiry ordered into protective bund failure |
| Project capacity | 1,530MW (3 units of 510MW); Tarbela total 4,888MW to 6,418MW |
| Project cost | Rs82 billion to Rs317 billion (over 285% rise) |
| Funding | About $700 million loans from World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank |
FAQs
Q1: What happened at Tarbela Dam on 9 November 2026?
A rock mass collapsed during digging work at the T-5 extension site, and water from the Intake Pit flooded a tunnel and the powerhouse area under construction. Work was suspended and an emergency was declared.
Q2: Was anyone hurt in the Tarbela T-5 incident?
No. All workers were evacuated safely. One Pakistani worker was swept into the water but was rescued by emergency teams. Officials confirmed no deaths and no injuries.
Q3: Is there a flood risk for areas below Tarbela Dam?
Officials said there is no threat of flooding in downstream areas at present. However, extra water has been released from the dam, so the Indus River level will rise, and people have been told to stay away from the river.
