Uttarakhand tragedy: 36 confirmed dead, 10 identified; 197 still missing

Chamoli, Feb 11: The death toll in the disaster has climbed to 36, while some 197 people are still missing, confirmed by the Uttarakhand Police on Thursday.

Of 36, 10 bodies have been identified so far said the state Government.

The rescue operations at Tapovan tunnel in Chamoli district is continuing for the fifth day today. The district was hit by a massive disaster early on Sunday after a glacier broke off at Joshimath and flooded the Rishiganga and Dhauli Ganga rivers.

The Union Home Secretary chaired a meeting today to review the progress of rescue and relief work being carried out by Central agencies and agencies of the Government of Uttarakhand at the site of the hydro project of the NTPC at Tapovan on the Dhauliganga River.

Drilling operation towards the slush flushing tunnel was stopped after approx 7-8 meters of drill. A hard rock obstructed the cutters to operate. The rescue teams are now removing the slush again as earlier from machines, informed the Indo-Tibetan Border Police.

Uttarakhand Director-General of Police (DGP) Ashok Kumar today informed that DNA samples of the bodies recovered after the glacier burst incident in Chamoli district are being preserved by the state officials.

"We are preserving DNA samples of the recovered bodies. Out of total dead bodies recovered, we have so far identified 10 bodies. All our officers including DIG Law and Order, SP Rudraprayag -- they taking care of the identities of the dead bodies using Whatsapp. Last rites will only be performed after preserving the DNA of the bodies," said DGP, Uttarakhand.