Day after Uttarakhand avalanche, 49 workers rescued; search on for 8

Earlier on Saturday, speaking to The Indian Express, Vinod Kumar Suman, Secretary, SDMA, said, “We have been able to rescue 47 people and search is underway for the remaining eight workers. We are hopeful they will also be rescued soon.”

The workers were employed by a contractor to clear the stretch ahead of BRO operations for a road project between Mana village and Mana Pass. They were in their bunkers when the incident took place, district administration authorities said. “They were in eight bunkers around 7.15 am when the incident took place on Friday and we are evacuating the workers from these,” said a senior official.

The rescue operation began at 7.30 am and six injured workers were taken to the Army Hospital in Joshimath.

Sandeep Tiwari, District Magistrate, Chamoli, said three people were airlifted from the ITBP Hospital in Mana to the Joshimath hospital. “The three are stable now. Twenty-eight NDRF personnel have also come to help with the rescue. The weather has cleared now and we are hopeful that aid from the help centre will reach the area soon,” he added.

Earlier, officials said poor visibility and snowstorm were slowing rescue operations.

Chief Minister Dhami said he spoke with PM Modi over the phone. “He also took detailed information on the situation of rain and snowfall in the state. During this, the Prime Minister assured that the central government will provide all possible assistance to deal with any emergency,” Dhami tweeted.

The CM said he spoke with the authorities in Mana and was heading to Chamoli to visit the site. He added that relief and rescue operations have been accelerated as the weather improved on Saturday.

Of the 55 workers initially trapped, 14 are from Bihar, 11 each from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, seven from Himachal Pradesh, one each from Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, and ten from Nepal.