Uttarakhand Glacier Burst: 26 Bodies Recovered, Hundreds Still Trapped

Picture courtesy www.oneindia.com

Chamoli (Uttarakhand): A total of 26 bodies have been recovered till Monday evening after the tragic glacier burst in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on Sunday.

According to Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar, 32 people from the first tunnel and 121 from the second one are still missing. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are operating on an emergency basis to rescue people still stuck in the tunnels.

The multi-agency rescue teams have cleared a 90-metre stretch of debris at Tapovan so far. There are still about 100 metres remaining to be cleared.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, who visited Chamoli on Monday, said that the entire debris will be cleared on a priority basis, as quickly as possible.

Announcing an assistance of Rs 4 lakh to every family of the deceased, Rawat stressed that saving lives is the priority right now.

The glacier burst at the Rishiganga power project following a portion of Nanda Devi glacier breaking off at Tapovan in Joshimath on Sunday morning. The Rishiganga dam on Alakananda river was damaged.

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