U'khand tragedy: 2 listed as missing return home safely after being stranded in Chamoli

Tapovan, Feb 10: Two persons who were listed as missing in the avalanche and flash floods in Uttarakhand returned to their homes safely on Wednesday after being stranded in different areas of Chamoli district following the calamity three days ago, officials said.

Suraj Singh from Chamoli in Uttarakhand and Rashid from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh returned to their homes on Wednesday, Additional District Information Officer, Chamoli, Ravindra Negi said.

Singh and Rashid were among those missing after the calamity, as per official records. The duo were stranded while they were returning to their villages, the officials said.

Rescue teams intensified efforts on Wednesday to reach the 25-35 men trapped in a sludge-choked tunnel since the glacier disaster three days ago in the district and more than 170 remain missing.

So far, 32 bodies have been recovered from different places in the disaster-hit areas of Chamoli district, the State Emergency Control Centre in Dehradun said.

The missing people include those working at NTPC’s 480 MW Tapovan-Vishnugad project and the 13.2 MW Rishiganga Hydel Project and villagers whose homes were washed away as a wall of water came hurtling down mountainsides.