60-65 people are involved in the rescue operation in Uttarakhand's Chamoli.
At least 41 Border Roads Organisation (BRO) workers are trapped under an avalanche in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, officials said today. The incident took place near the border village of Mana, about five kilometres from the Badrinath temple.
There were a total of 57 workers of which 16 have been so far rescued and sent to the army camp near Mana village in critical condition, an official said.
Here are the first images of the rescue operation:
60-65 people are involved in the rescue operation.
57 road construction workers were stationed in the BRO camp at the time of the incident, informed Deepam Seth, Uttarakhand's Director General of Police, while speaking to NDTV.
"The rescue operation has been underway for the last two hours. The main challenge is the bad weather. It has been snowing with strong winds...The roads are completely blocked. We have deployed snow cutters to open the road," added Mr Seth.
"Three to four ambulances have also been sent, but due to heavy snowfall, the rescue team is facing difficulties in reaching there," BRO (Border Roads Organisation) Executive Engineer CR Meena told news agency ANI.
"It is actively raining and snowing therefore, we are unable to deploy heli-services. Movement is difficult," the Chamoli District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari said.
A State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team has left Joshimath and is en route to the disaster site. The army has been contacted to clear the route in Lambagad, which is currently impassable due to road blockage. Another team is on alert at Sahastradhara helipad. As soon as the weather conditions improve, the high-altitude rescue team of SDRF will be dropped by helicopter at the nearest place.
The SDRF drone team is also ready. However, due to heavy snowfall, drone operations are impossible right now, informed Ridhim Agarwal, Inspector General of Police, SDRF.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said he is "saddened" by the incident and assured that relief and rescue operations are underway. Mr Dhami also held a meeting with the state's top officials at the State Disaster Control Room to review the progress of the ongoing rescue operation.
In a social media post on X (formerly Twitter), Mr Dhami wrote, "I pray to Lord Badri Vishal for the safety of all the labour brothers."
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Mr Dhami and assured: "all efforts to rescue the trapped personnel are being undertaken by utilising all available resources."
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the priority is to "safely evacuate the people trapped in the accident". Two teams of NDRF are also reaching the spot soon, he informed.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for several hilly regions, including Uttarakhand, predicting very heavy rain (up to 20 cm) till Friday late night.
The IMD has predicted the impact of heavy rain in the form of localised flooding of roads, waterlogging in low-lying areas and closure of underpasses mainly in urban areas. Occasional reduction in visibility due to heavy rainfall, an increased travel time due to traffic disruption and minor damage to unpaved roads are expected.
