Uttarakhand avalanche: Of 50 workers rescued, four die; search on for five labourers

A devastating avalanche at a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp in the high-altitude Mana village in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district has claimed the lives of four labourers, with five still missing. The Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police rescue teams recovered the bodies on Friday. To locate the missing labourers, the Indian Air Force is deploying a drone-based system that can detect buried objects.

Six helicopters, including three of the Indian Army Aviation, two of the Indian Air Force and one civil copter hired by the Army, are engaged in the rescue operations, an Army spokesperson said.

The Army is conducting search operations amidst bad weather conditions, with a 20 km stretch of road between Joshimath and Mana under snow.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Central Army Commander Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta visited the avalanche site.

Indian Army doctors have performed life-saving surgeries, and helicopter operations from the Joshimath helipad are ongoing. The Central Army Command is working to provide all necessary assistance, including UAVs and radars, once the weather and road conditions improve.

Thirty-three were rescued by Friday night.

The avalanche hit the BRO camp between Mana and Badrinath between 5.30 am and 6 am on Friday, burying 55 workers inside eight containers and a shed, according to the Army.

“Fifty labourers have been rescued out of which, unfortunately, four injured have been confirmed as fatal casualties while the search for the remaining five is underway,” the Army spokesperson said.

The injured were being prioritised for evacuation, he said.

According to the spokesperson, Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta GOC-in C Central Command and Lt Gen D G Mishra GOC Uttar Bharat area have reached the avalanche site to monitor the rescue operations.

Lt Gen Sengupta said movement by road is impossible since it is clogged with snow. The Badrinath-Joshimath highway is blocked at 15 to 20 places, he said.

There were eight containers at the BRO camp, of which five have been traced while three are missing. A large number of the labourers rescued so far were found in the five containers, he said.