Uttarakhand glacier burst: Working against hope, rescue team move ahead to clear tunnel at Tapovan

Even as hopes of finding survivors from the nearly 250-metre Intake Adit tunnel at Tapovan in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district faded, the rescue team pressed ahead with work on clearing the tunnel on Tuesday. By evening, 11 bodies had been recovered as the machines from the multi-agency rescue teams cleared about 140 metres and drones scanned the area up to 20 metres.

Only one earth mover and two dumpers were being used in the clearing operation at one time because of space restrictions. The complicated structure of the tunnel also slowed down the progress. Besides, the draining of slushy muck hampered the operation. The machines required for various operations were, however, available at the site.

About 30-35 persons were feared trapped inside the tunnel after the February 7 Uttarakhand glacier disaster. Apart from the teams of NDRF, SDRF and army personnel, the NTPC deployed its own team of about 350 persons, including engineers, geologists, scientists and experts. “Our focus is on excavation up to SFT (silt flushing tunnel), besides dewatering,” said RP Ahirwal, general manager, NTPC, who is camping at the site.

Uttarakhand director general of police Ashok Kumar said the search operation was going on. “We will continue the operation till the end,” he told ET. The search operation was being conducted at Reni village and upper areas near the barrage site, besides the tunnel, he said.

The teams engaged in clearing the Adit tunnel are facing problems due to the debris accumulated inside the tunnel, said officials. “Water is also there,” one of the officials said on condition of anonymity.

On Monday, the Centre informed the state authorities that five helicopters of Indian Air Force have been made available at Jolly Grant Airport and two helicopters at Joshimath to assist in the relief and rescue operations. A grant of Rs 937 crore has been cleared by the Union home ministry in two tranches to Uttarakhand government as part of the State disaster Relief Management Fund, said a home ministry official.

According to the Chamoli police, the identities of 30 bodies and one body part have been established. DNA samples of unidentified bodies have been stored for matching. The DNA samples of 66 family members of missing persons have also been collected. The Joshimath police station has registered a total of 179 missing persons reports.

On February 7, a glacier broke in the Tapovan-Reni area of Chamoli district which led to massive flooding in Dhauliganga and Alaknanda rivers and caused damages.