Uttarakhand Avalanche; Of 50 Workers Rescued, Four Die; Search On For Five Labourers

Fifty workers have been pulled out of snow brought in by an avalanche at a BRO camp in the high-altitude Mana village in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, but four of them died on Saturday as rescuers raced against time to save the remaining five labourers. Six helicopters, including three of the Indian Army Aviation, two of the IAF and one civil copter hired by the Army, are engaged in the rescue operations, an Army spokesperson said.

Thirty-three were rescued by Friday night. The avalanche hit the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp 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. "Fifty labourers have been rescued out of which, unfortunately, four injured have been confirmed as fatal casualties while the search for the remaining five is underway," the Army spokesperson said.

The injured were being prioritised for evacuation, he said. According to the spokesperson, Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta GOC-in C Central Command and Lt Gen D G Mishra GOC Uttar Bharat area have reached the avalanche site to monitor the rescue operations. Lt Gen Sengupta said movement by road is impossible since it is clogged with snow. The Badrinath-Joshimath highway is blocked at 15-20 places, he said. There were eight containers at the BRO camp, of which five have been traced while three are missing. A large number of the labourers rescued so far were found in the five containers, he said.