Hope fades as rain, snow hit rescue; 149 still missing

Tribune News Service & PTI

Joshimath, February 15

Four more bodies were recovered, including three from Tapovan tunnel, on Monday, taking the toll in the Uttarakhand flashflood to 55 as hopes of finding survivors dimmed. As per the authorities, 149 persons are yet to be traced. Officials said the rescue work at the Tapovan tunnel and Raini village area was hit following light showers and snowfall.

Last-ditch effort

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• Bid to reach trapped workers by widening a hole drilled into Tapovan tunnel failed as the hole got choked with sludge
• Rescuing the trapped people is now possible only with the help of excavators, says Chamoli DM Swati S Bhadauria
• With the recovery of four more bodies, the toll has risen to 55

A senior ITBP official said: “We are waiting for the weather to improve to resume the search operation.” He said the rescue teams had so far managed to clear sludge up to 150 metres of the 180-metre-long tunnel.

Officials said the other approach to reach the trapped workers — by widening a hole drilled into the tunnel system — did not appear to be working. A camera or tube could not be inserted as the hole was choked with sludge, they said. Rescuing the trapped people was now possible only with the help of excavators, Chamoli District Magistrate Swati S Bhadauria said.

The body of Satypal Singh Bartwal from Masoli village in Chamoli district was among those found in the tunnel on Monday. “We had hoped Satyapal would return alive. But now we will have to return home with his body. It is unbearable,” said his elder brother.

Officials said connectivity had been restored in all affected regions of the Tapovan and Raini areas. The last rites of those pulled out dead are being carried out after samples are taken for DNA tests to help establish their identity. Kits with foodgrain and other essentials have been distributed among residents of over a dozen villages that were cut off from the district headquarters after the disaster, possibly triggered by an avalanche.