The Aryavarth Express
DEHRADUN: Fifty workers have been pulled from the snow at the site of an avalanche-hit Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp in Mana village, located in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district. Unfortunately, four of them died on Saturday as rescuers raced against time to find four more laborers feared trapped.
According to the latest updates provided by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA), five laborers were missing. However, one of them, Sunil Kumar from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, reached home safely on his own, and the search is now focused on the remaining four workers.
The avalanche struck the BRO camp, situated 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.
By Friday night, 33 workers had been rescued, and 17 more were saved on Saturday.
Rain and snowfall hampered the rescue efforts on Friday, and the operation was suspended as night fell. As the weather cleared on Saturday morning, the Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel based in Mana resumed the rescue operation, said District Disaster Management Officer N. K. Joshi.
Six helicopters—three from the Indian Army Aviation Corps, two from the Indian Air Force (IAF), and one civil helicopter hired by the Army—have been engaged in the operation, said the Army’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Lieutenant Colonel Manish Shrivastava.
Located three kilometers from Badrinath, Mana is the last village on the India-Tibet border, sitting at an altitude of 3,200 meters.
“Fifty laborers have been rescued, of whom, unfortunately, four injured have been confirmed as fatal casualties, while the search for the remaining workers is underway,” Lt. Col. Shrivastava said, adding that the injured are being prioritized for evacuation.
The USDMA also confirmed the deaths of the four rescued laborers. One died during treatment in Jyotirmath, and three others succumbed in Badrinath-Mana, it said. The deceased have been identified as Mohindra Pal and Jitendra Singh from Himachal Pradesh, Manjit Yadav from Uttar Pradesh, and Alok Yadav from Uttarakhand.
The four remaining missing laborers are Harmesh Chand from Himachal Pradesh, Ashok from Uttar Pradesh, and Anil Kumar and Arvind Singh from Uttarakhand, the authority added.
Army officials said that Saturday’s rescue efforts were primarily carried out by Army and IAF helicopters, as snow had blocked the approach road at several points, making vehicular movement nearly impossible.
The priority is to bring the rescued workers to the Army hospital in Jyotirmath and continue searching for the missing workers, they said.
Officials reported that 24 people with injuries have been brought to the Army hospital, and two of them have been referred to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh.
Lt. Gen. Anindya Sengupta, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (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, as the Badrinath-Joshimath highway is blocked at 15 to 20 places.
“There were eight containers at the BRO camp. Five of those have been found, but three are still missing, and the five laborers we are looking for could be trapped inside them. Many of the laborers rescued so far were found in the five containers,” he said.
However, the USDMA later reported that the three remaining containers have been located, though no workers were found in them.
If the weather permits, specialized RECCO radars, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), quadcopters, and avalanche rescue dogs will be deployed to search for the missing workers, Lt. Gen. Sengupta said. “Everything depends on the weather,” he added.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami conducted an aerial survey of the avalanche-hit site and reviewed the relief-and-rescue operations at Jyotirmath.
Upon returning to Dehradun, he praised the relief-and-rescue teams for their efforts in rescuing 50 people so far. Dhami instructed officials to continue the search for the missing workers with urgency.
Army sniffer dogs have been deployed, and three Army teams are patrolling the area, the chief minister said.
Over 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 ongoing rescue operations, he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took an update on the rescue operation over the phone and promised all possible assistance from central agencies, Dhami said.
Lying in 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.
