Uttarakhand tragedy: Death toll rises to 32, 8 identified; 197 still missing

Chamoli, Feb 09: As many as 32 along with two policemen deployed at the plant have been dead and 197 are still missing on Tuesday in the Uttarakhand disaster.

The rescuers are working through tonnes of muck and slush to rescue 30 workers trapped in a tunnel at a power project site in Tapovan in the debris in Raini village.

As of 32, , 8 have been identified, Uttarakhand Police have notified: People, who know someone who is missing, can contact DIG Law & Order on +91 7500016666, they will be sent photos of 24 bodies that are yet to be identified, on WhatsApp.

A machine operator from the rescue site described saying he has never witnessed such a situation before.

"We have cleared up to 60m inside the tunnel and can see up to 30m more but there is still a lot of work left. A large amount of debris stocked inside."

One SDRF personnel, involved in rescue work in Tapovan area said, there is an accumulation of a large amount of debris and sludge inside the tunnel. As much as we pull out via buckets, the sludge keeps coming back. Progress is slow for now, we are trying to fasten the process.