The labourers were working to clear snow near the high altitude border village of Mana when the avalanche hit
SDRF rescuers carry workers after being rescued from an avalanche hit. Pic/AFP
Forty-one BRO labourers working to clear snow near the high altitude border village of Mana in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district were trapped under an avalanche on Friday. The snowslide had initially buried 57 men but 16 were pulled out safely, officials said.
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The avalanche buried a camp of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) between Mana and Badrinath, Chamoli DM Sandeep Tiwari said as multiple teams battled tough terrain, heavy snow and rain to rescue the workers. There was no immediate news of any casualties. Mana, three kilometres from Badrinath, is the last village on the India-Tibet border at a height of 3200 metres. The 57 labourers were at the camp when the avalanche struck in the morning.
“These labourers do regular snow clearing work on the route for army movement towards the Tibet border... As of now we have no news of any casualty. Rescue teams have been mobilised. But due to active snowfall and rain in the area, rescue work is slow,” said Tiwari. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and SDRF left for the spot, about 300 km from the state capital Dehradun, amid continuing snowfall and rain.
“Out of the 57 BRO labourers trapped in the avalanche, 16 have been rescued. Efforts are on to rescue the rest. The help of ITBP and other departments is being taken in the rescue operations. Our disaster management department and the entire administration is fully alert,” Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami told reporters.
Shah speaks to CM Dhami
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday spoke to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and took stock of the trapped workers, saying the government’s priority is to safely evacuate all those who are out of reach.
“Spoke to Chief Minister Shri @pushkardhami ji, DG ITBP and DG NDRF regarding the glacier burst in Chamoli, Uttarakhand. Our priority is to safely evacuate the people trapped in the accident. The local administration is engaged in rescue operations with full readiness. Two teams of NDRF are also reaching the spot soon,” Shah wrote on X in Hindi.
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