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At a camp of the Border Road Organization (BRO) in a high-altitude village Mana located in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, at least 55 workers got stuck after an avalanche hit the area. By Friday evening, 33 of those workers had been rescued.
Concerns for the safety of the remaining 22 has escalated since those pour their efforts into the rescue operations were forced to stop due to inclement weather and the imminent threat of avalanches in Mana. PTI has reported that operations resumed on Saturday morning.
Uttarakhand’s Disaster Management Secretary, Suman, stated during a briefing on the rescue operations that 33 of the workers have been located, and 22 are still missing in the extreme weather conditions.
Suman surmised that the task is daunting since there are adds, but maintained that there are already over sixty personnel participating in the rescue efforts. Indeed, there are seven feet of snow around the avalanche site.
According to a list disseminated by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority, the workers who remain stuck in the region hail from various places including Bihar, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir as well as Punjab. PTI has reported that the list includes the names of ten workers but does not state the regions they belong to.
On Friday morning, the snow slide which covered the BRO campsite that is situated between Mana and Badrinath, started bulging. Many teams struggled against the brutal environment, deep snow, and frozen conditions to save the trapped laborers. Initially, they dragged out 10 laborers and then the rest.
An army PRO claims that four of the rescued have been found and are in critical condition. All 33 rescued laborers have been sent to the ITBP post at Mana for medical care.
At a height of 3200m, Mana is the last village of the Indo-Tibetan border and is situated 3 kilometers away from Badrinath.
PM Narendra Modi evaluated the ongoing rescue mission. In a post on X, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said, “PM Modi spoke over the phone to gather details about the ongoing operations to rescue the workers stuck in Mana of Chamoli District . He also took detailed information on the situation of rain and snowfall in the state. The Prime Minister during this provided assurance that rest of the Central Government will render all possible help to meet any exigency.” Modi claims that the government will provide full assistance to combat any possible emergencies.
Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, claimed that the government’s main focus is to rescue any remaining survivors. In a post on X, Shah stated that he has spoken to Uttarakhand CM DDhami as well as the ITBP and NDRF’s general directors.
According to Army sources, the workers were impacted in an avalanche between six to five thirty and were buried in eight containers with a shed. The army has now deployed response teams constituted of over 100 personnel, called the Ibex Brigade, who specialize in altitude rescues. The motorized infantry units were placed on immediate standby. The staff also included medics and ambulances.
Mi17 helicopters from the Indian Air Force (IAF) are expected to depart on Saturday morning to Mana for the search and rescue mission.
Dhami invited SEOC senior officials Late Friday evening and directed them to establish a disaster control room in Joshimath.
The chief minister said that the NDRF, SDRF, ITBP, and army need to work together to remove the snow from the affected places and both the civilians and the rescued labourers need to be safeguarded.
Civilians rescued
The Indian Army has rescued Mana Chamoli area on Saturday where an avalanche had prompted, bringing the total rescues to 14. One of them is in dire conditions, as per the Army, ANI reported.
Slight improvements in weather allowed three injured personnel to be evacuated from Mana to Joshimath for critical medical care by civil helicopters contracted by the Indian Army.
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