Fifty workers have been pulled out of snow from the site of an avalanche-hit BRO camp in Mana village in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, but four of them died on Saturday as rescuers raced against time to trace four more labourers feared trapped.
According to latest rescue updates provided by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA), five labourers were missing but one of them — Sunil Kumar from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh — has reached home safely on his own and now, the search is focused on the four remaining workers.
The avalanche hit the Border Roads Organisation (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.
Thirty-three of them were rescued by Friday night and 17 on Saturday.
Rain and snowfall hampered the rescue efforts on Friday and the operation was suspended as the night fell.
As the weather cleared up on Saturday morning, the Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel based in Mana resumed the rescue operation, District Disaster Management Officer N K Joshi said.
Six helicopters — three of the Indian Army Aviation Corps, two of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and a civil chopper hired by the Army — have been engaged in the operation, Army’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) Lieutenant Colonel Manish Shrivastava said.
Located three kilometres from Badrinath, Mana is the last village on the India-Tibet border at a height of 3,200 metres.
“Fifty labourers have been rescued, of whom, unfortunately, four injured have been confirmed as fatal casualties, while the search for the remaining ones is underway,” Lt Col Shrivastava said, adding that the injured were being prioritised for evacuation.
The USDMA also confirmed the death of four rescued labourers.
One died during treatment in Jyotirmath and three in Badrinath-Mana, it said.
The deceased were identified as Mohindra Pal and Jitendra Singh from Himachal Pradesh, Manjit Yadav from Uttar Pradesh and Alok Yadav from Uttarakhand, the USDMA said.
The four labourers still missing are Harmesh Chand from Himachal Pradesh, Ashok from Uttar Pradesh and Anil Kumar and Arvind Singh from Uttarakhand, it added.
Army officials said the rescue operation on Saturday was mostly carried out by the Army and IAF helicopters as the approach road was blocked by snow at several points, making vehicular movement nearly impossible.
The priority is to bring the rescued workers to the Army hospital in Jyotirmath and look for the four missing workers, they said.
Officials said 24 people were brought to the Army hospital with injuries and two of them were referred to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh.
According to the Army PRO, Lt Gen. Anindya Sengupta, GOC-in C, Central Command, and Lt Gen. D G Mishra, GOC, Uttar Bharat, have reached the avalanche site to monitor the rescue operations.
Lt Gen. Sengupta said movement by road is impossible since it is clogged by snow. The Badrinath-Joshimath highway is blocked at 15-20 places, he added.
“There were eight containers at the BRO camp. Five of those have been found but three are missing in which the five labourers we are looking for could be trapped. A large number of the labourers rescued so far were found in the five containers,” he said.
However, the USDMA subsequently said the three remaining containers have also been located but no worker was found in those.
If weather permits, specialised RECCO radars, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), quadcopters and avalanche rescue dogs will be pressed into service to trace the missing workers, Lt Gen. Sengupta said. “Everything depends on the weather,” he added.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami did an aerial survey of the avalanche-hit site and reviewed the relief-and-rescue operations at Jyotirmath.
On returning to Dehradun, he said the relief-and-rescue teams have done a commendable job by rescuing 50 people so far. Officers have been instructed to carry on with the search for the missing workers on a war footing, Dhami said.
Army sniffer dogs have been deployed and three teams of the Army are patrolling the area, the chief minister said.
More than 200 personnel from the disaster management authority, ITBP, BRO, National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, IAF, district administration, health department and fire brigade are engaged in the rescue operations, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took an update on the rescue operation over the phone and promised all possible help from central agencies, Dhami said.
Laying on a bed at the Army’s Jyotirmath hospital, Gopal Joshi of Narayanbagar in Chamoli district thanked Lord Badrinath for saving his life.
Recounting the harrowing experience, he said, “Fresh snow was falling outside. As soon as we came out of the container house, we heard thunder and saw a deluge of snow hurtling towards us. I shouted to alert my companions and started running.
“Several feet of snow prevented us from running fast. After two hours, the ITBP rescued us,” Joshi said. PTI
