Uttarakhand glacier burst: Efforts underway to rescue over 30 workers trapped in Tapovan tunnel

Nearly 48 hours after a flash flood struck Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, rescue operations are underway to locate around 170 people. The mission people are mostly labourers from Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who were working at two power projects.

According to the State Emergency Control Room, 26 bodies have been recovered so far from the project sites of NTPC’s Tapovan Vishnugad Hydro Power Project and the privately-owned Rishiganga power project.

According to media reports, around 34 people were trapped inside a big tunnel at Tapovan. Personnel from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and some state disaster response teams are clearing the tunnel since Sunday night that has been blocked with slush, debris and silt.

“Our teams are working to rescue about 30 workers who are trapped in the tunnel. Specialised equipment for such operations has been deployed. We are hopeful we will able to rescue everyone,” ITBP spokesperson Vivek Kumar Pandey said.

Pandey said that there is a huge amount of debris inside the tunnel. About 100 metres inside the tunnel is cleared and accessible, and it looks like about 100 metres of debris more will have to be cleared. Nearly 300 ITBP personnel are currently deployed at the site.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Tuesday morning conducted an aerial survey of areas affected due to glacier disaster in Chamoli.

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