The death toll in the avalanche that struck Uttarakhand’s Chamoli rose to four, the Indian Army said on Saturday. According to the Army, the avalanche hit the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp between Mana and Badrinath on Friday between 5:30 a.m. and 6 a.m., trapping 55 workers inside eight containers and a shed.
After the incident, rescuers rushed to locate survivors on Saturday. Out of the 50 people rescued in the avalanche, four were declared dead. Five workers remain trapped. Rain and snowfall hampered the rescue efforts on Friday, and the operation was suspended as the night fell. As the weather cleared up on Saturday, choppers joined the operation.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami conducted an aerial survey of the affected area and directed officials to speed up the rescue operation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Dhami and assured him of full support. District Disaster Management Officer N K Joshi said the rescue operation was resumed in the morning by Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel based in Mana.
Eleven of the rescued labourers have been brought to the Army hospital in Jyotirmath. Of them, one is critical, some have fractures and others have minor injuries. Vitals of all of them except one are stable and necessary investigations are being done by specialist doctors at the hospital, Chamoli District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari said.
The weather is turning bad again and could slow down the rescue operation. However, Army helicopters are making sorties and if the weather remains favourable, we will soon be able to find the remaining eight labourers, he said. Dhami conducted an aerial survey of the avalanche-hit area. He also interacted with an injured labourer who was being airlifted to Jyotirmath for treatment.
“Took stock of the situation by conducting an aerial survey of the avalanche area near Mana in Chamoli district,” Dhami said in a post on X. He said he instructed officials to ensure that the relief and rescue work is conducted quickly and effectively.
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