Chamoli tragedy: After 7 days, 12 more bodies recovered including 5 from Tapovan

The five bodies in the tunnel were recovered after the rescue workers cleared the muck inside at a distance of about 130 metres.

A week after the rescue operation was started in the 1.7 kilometre-long main tunnel of the NTPC's hydel power project, the rescue agencies recovered five bodies inside the tunnel till Sunday afternoon. It also recovered seven other bodies from various places taking the total confirmed death toll to 50. About 154 people are still missing.

Rescue workers recovering a body from the tunnel at NTPC's hydel power project in Tapovan on Sunday morning. (HT Photo)

The five bodies in the tunnel were recovered after the rescue workers cleared the muck inside at a distance of about 130 metres. They are among the 35 workers trapped inside the tunnel, including about 30 workers trapped in another smaller underground tunnels beneath the main one.

District magistrate Chamoli, Swati S Bhadauria, said, "In the morning, two bodies were first recovered inside the tunnel after clearing the muck at a distance of about 125-130 metres. Following that, three more bodies were recovered till Sunday afternoon."

Bhadauria said, "The administration has kept seven ambulances and a chopper on standby in case any of the workers is found alive from the tunnel."

On the vertical drilling being done by another team of rescue workers to reach out to the smaller tunnel to rescue about 30 workers trapped inside, she said, "On Saturday, the rescue workers finished drilling vertically in the main tunnel to reach out to a small underground tunnel beneath at a depth of 12.7 metres. They, however, hit slush after drilling the required depth which they have been pumping out to get inside to search the workers trapped inside it."

Meanwhile, the rescue workers recovered seven other bodies, including six from Raini village near the Rishi Ganga hydel power project which was the first one to be hit by the flash floods in Sunday's disaster. The remaining body was recovered from Rudraprayag district in the Alaknanda river.

Nilesh Anand Bharne, deputy inspector general (law & order), said that of the total 50 bodies recovered, 25 have been identified while the remaining 25 are yet to be identified.

"Of the 50 bodies, 41 were recovered from Chamoli district, seven from Rudraprayag and one each from Tehri Garhwal and Pauri Garhwal districts," said Bharne.

He said, "Apart from the bodies, the rescue workers also recovered 23 human body parts. DNA samples of all the body parts and dead bodies have been collected to ascertain their identities."

The police officer informed that the rescue workers have so far "cremated 32 bodies and 11 human body parts with complete rituals and respect. The rescue agencies have also videographed and photographed the jewellery, tattoo and other identity marks of the bodies found."

"The rescue workers are working tirelessly to recover the remaining bodies. The family members can call on the helpline numbers- 01372-251487 and 9084127503 for any queries or assistance," said Bharne.

Earlier on Saturday night, the eight-member team of the SDRF, which had gone on foot to gather information about the glacier lake about 8 kilometres above Raini village in Rishi Ganga, also returned to Tapovan. The team had reached there on Friday after trekking for about 14 hours. They said that the 350-metre lake is posing no threat of any flash floods as enough water is continuously draining from there in the form of a stream.

The SDRF, which had gone there with seven labourers, also created a makeshift helipad near the glacial lake to enable a chopper land there, if needed.