47 Workers Rescued From Avalanche Site In Chamoli, Eight Still Trapped

Dehradun: Fourteen more workers were rescued from under the snow near the remote Mana village in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli on Saturday morning.

This has taken the number of workers rescued to 47. Rescuers are now working against all odds to search for the remaining eight workers stuck under 6-7 feet of snow.

After a glacier burst at Badrinath Dham early on Friday, an avalanche hit the General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) camp, located close to Mana. GREF is a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) unit under the Ministry of Defence. The workers at Mana were engaged to clear snow from roads close to the border with China. Their camp consisted of two containers and a shed.

“Heavy snowfall is continuing in the area. Rescuers from the Army’s IBEX Brigade, the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are continuing their rescue effort. It is a race against time. Of the 14 brought out since Saturday morning, four are in critical state. They have been rushed to a military hospital in Joshimath. All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Roorkee, is also prepared to receive injured workers,” an official monitoring the rescue operations said.

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami carried out an aerial survey of the avalanche hit areas this morning. He also went to Joshimath to meet the injured workers. The CM also met senior Army officials to learn more about the situation on the ground.

“All efforts are on to rescue those still trapped under the snow. Due to heavy snowfall, all roads to the spot are blocked. This is making rescue efforts difficult. Those rescued on Saturday morning are being moved to Joshimath,” Dhami told the media.

The Army has also pressed four helicopters into service for the rescue operations. The central and state governments have also brought in four helicopters.