Uttarakhand avalanche: 14 more BRO workers rescued, 8 remain trapped
Search teams have rescued 14 more labourers, while eight remain trapped under an avalanche in the high-altitude village of Mana in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, news agency PTI reported, citing officials on Saturday.
A total of 55 Border Roads Organisation workers were trapped under the avalanche on Friday. However, by Friday night, 33 of them were rescued, while 14 more were brought out from the avalanche on Saturday morning.
Correcting the information shared earlier, Uttarakhand’s Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman told news agency PTI it was found out that two of the 57 labourers feared trapped in the avalanche at the BRO camp were on leave and the actual number of workers trapped was 55.
According to a list released by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority, the trapped labourers were from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, among other states. The list has 10 labourers’ names, without mentioning the states they belong to.
Suman agreed that the task is challenging as there is seven feet of snow near the avalanche site. However, more than 65 personnel are engaged in the rescue operations, he added.
What happened?
The snowslide, which buried the BRO camp between Mana and Badrinath, rolled down early on Friday morning. Multiple teams battled through the tough terrain, heavy snow and icy temperatures to reach the trapped labourers. They initially pulled out 10 of them and then the others.
The avalanche hit between 5:30am and 6am, burying the workers inside eight containers and a shed, the Army said. Its swift response teams, comprising more than 100 personnel from the Ibex Brigade, specially trained for high-altitude rescue operations, were immediately mobilised. The teams included doctors and ambulances.
Four of those rescued were reported to be in critical condition, a public relations officer (PRO) of the Army said earlier.
Located three kilometres from Badrinath, Mana is the last village on the India-Tibet border at a height of 3,200 metres.
Visuals from Mana showed rescuers trudging through high piles of snow in a grim landscape bathed in white.
Rescue work halted due to bad weather
The rescue operations were stopped due to the bad weather and the impending danger of more avalanches in Mana. Two mild avalanches had followed the main one.
According to Suman, the situation is critical, with the containers buried under six to seven feet of snow.
CM Pushkar Singh Dhami monitors rescue work
Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is closely monitoring the ongoing rescue work and clearance operations from the CM residence and remains in constant touch with officials present at the site to ensure swift action.
The Uttarakhand government has issued the following helpline numbers: Mobile No: 8218867005, 9058441404; Telephone No: 0135 2664315; Toll-Free No: 1070.
Union home minister Amit Shah spoke to chief minister Dhami and assured him that the government’s priority was to safely evacuate the people trapped in the incident.
Rishikesh-Badrinath highway blocked
The Rishikesh-Badrinath national highway near Karnaprayag has been blocked due to falling mountain debris following continuous rainfall, officials told news agency ANI on Saturday.
According to reports, the highway remains closed, with debris falling at multiple locations, including Animath and Pagal Nala in the Jyotirmath Kotwali region. Authorities are working to clear the route and restore traffic movement.
The highway was temporarily closed on Friday morning after a significant avalanche in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district.