Uttarakhand flash flood: Death toll reaches 69; 135 still missing
About 70 SDRF personnel are searching for bodies in the river, while covering four districts of Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Tehri Garhwal and Pauri Garhwal
Rescue and search agencies recovered one more body on Monday in Uttarakhand, taking the death toll to 69. Authorities said that 135 persons are still missing.
The body was found in the Alaknanda river in Srinagar town of Pauri Garhwal district about 160km away from Tapovan.
Praveen Alok, spokesperson state disaster response force (SDRF), said, “The body was recovered by SDRF search teams in Srinagar, who are scanning the Alaknanda river on foot and boats to recover the bodies of those missing in the disaster.”
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“About 70 SDRF personnel are searching for bodies in the river from Reni village to Srinagar covering four districts of Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Tehri Garhwal and Pauri Garhwal. After recovering the bodies, their samples are being collected for DNA tests to ascertain their identification,” said Alok.
He also informed that of the total bodies recovered, 34 have been identified.
“Till now, 14 bodies have been recovered from the tunnel which is the focus of the rescue operation. The remaining bodies were recovered from various other places,” added Alok.
The rescue workers have been able to clear muck up to a distance of about 164 metres in the Tapovan tunnel but are facing difficulties due to the continuous outflow of water from inside. They are using heavy pumps to drain out the water from the tunnel with the help of the NTPC experts.
Of the total 204 initially missing in the disaster, 139 are from NTPC’s Tapovan power plant and 53 from the Rishi Ganga project that was also damaged in the disaster caused by a rockslide and the formation of a glacial lake in the mountainous terrain. About 12 villagers living in the vicinity are also missing.
The disaster also washed away the lone bridge located near the Rishi Ganga hydel power project cutting off 12 villages and affecting 465 families.