Seven of the 19 labourers who went missing from a road construction site in Arunachal Pradesh were found in a forest area, a senior officer said on Saturday.
The seven labourers were found in a forest near Huri village in Damin of Kurung Kumey district on Friday night, deputy commissioner Nighee Bengia said.
"Their health conditions are not good and medical assistance is being provided. Their families have been informed. The search is on for the other 12 labourers," he said.
The labourers, natives of Assam, fled the remote road construction site at the India-China border on July 5 after they were denied leave to go home for Eid. In two-three groups they took off for their homes on foot through jungles, the officer said.
The labourers have been missing since then, he added.
Bengia had earlier said that the body of one of the missing labourers was found in a river, but after the circle officer of Koloriang who visited Damin to take stock of the situation found no such body, he went back on his statement.
The project site is in Damin circle, about 200 km from Koloriang, the district headquarters.
State Civil Aviation Secretary Swapnil Naik said that the Indian Air force (IAF) has joined the search operation for the missing labourers.
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