Avalanche buries BRO camp in Uttarakhand: 32 workers rescued, 25 still trapped

Thirty-two of the 57 Border Roads Organisation (BRO) workers trapped under an avalanche in the high-altitude village of Mana in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district have been rescued.

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The concern over the safety of the other 25 is mounting as night fell on the snowbound slopes and rescue efforts came to a temporary halt.

The snowslide, which buried a BRO camp between Mana and Badrinath, rolled down early on Friday morning. Multiple teams battled through tough terrain, heavy snow and icy temperatures through the day to reach the men. They initially pulled out 10 workers and then the others, sources said.

Four of those rescued are reported to be in a critical condition, the Army PRO said. All 32 have been taken to the ITBP camp at Mana for treatment, sources said.

Mana, three kilometres from Badrinath, 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 operations were stopped in view of the continuing bad weather and the impending danger of more avalanches at Mana. Two mild avalanches had followed the main one.

The avalanche hit around 7.15 am, burying the workers inside eight containers and one shed, the Army said. Its swift response teams, comprising more than 100 people from the Ibex Brigade, especially trained in high-altitude rescue operations, were immediately mobilised. The team included doctors and ambulances.

According to Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman, the situation is critical with the containers buried under six to seven feet of snow. The bad weather continues.

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and SDRF left for the spot, about 300 km from the state capital Dehradun, amid continuing snow and rain.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said rescuing the trapped people is the government's priority. In a post on X, he said he had talked to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and the DGs of the ITBP and the NDRF.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said all efforts were being taken to rescue the trapped personnel by utilising all available resources.

"An unfortunate avalanche has occurred in the Mana area of Joshimath (Uttarakhand) today impacting a GREF camp of BRO. Spoke to CM Shri @pushkardhami regarding the situation. The administration is providing all assistance to the affected,” he said on X.

The NDRF said it rushed four teams to Chamoli. Besides, another four units had been kept on standby, NDRF Director General Piyush Anand told PTI.

Officials said two teams were rushed from the regional response centre (RRC) of the NDRF located in Dehradun while the other two were diverted from Joshimath, about 50 km from Mana, where they were undertaking a familiarisation exercise.

The rescue operations are fraught with challenges with no let-up in snow and rain and the darkness.

Chamoli's disaster management officer NK Joshi said the Army and ITBP teams stationed at Mana had been engaged in rescue operations since morning but those being sent from outside were stuck on the way due to bad weather.

Villagers in Mana said the site of the accident is considered vulnerable to avalanches in winter and the BRO camp is usually closed.

“This time the camp was not closed due to lack of snow, so they became victims of the avalanche,” Mana village headman Pitambar Singh told PTI.

Officials had been on alert for bad weather and its possible impact.