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Uttarakhand glacier burst: 15 rescued from NTPC tunnel, says Chamoli Police
The police further said that 14 bodies had been recovered thus far. The rescue operations, it said, were underway.
As operations continue in Uttarakhand to rescue people after Sunday’s glacier burst, the state’s Chamoli Police on Monday said that it was using a JCB machine to enter a National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC) tunnel near the Tapovan area to rescue workers trapped inside. The police further said that 15 people had been rescued and 14 bodies recovered thus far.
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“Relief and rescue operations continue for people trapped inside the tunnel. Efforts underway to enter the tunnel with the help of JCB machine and clear the way. Total 15 people have been rescued and 14 bodies recovered from various places thus far,” Chamoli Police tweeted on its official Twitter handle.
Earlier, the rescue operations at the 900-metre-long had to be halted due to rise in water level.
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Meanwhile, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), another agency involved in the rescue operations, said that it had deployed 300 of its personnel to clear the tunnel. “We’ve intensified search operations at the second tunnel. Our information is that around 30 people are trapped there. Around 300 ITBP jawans are deployed to clear the tunnel. Local administration says that around 170 people are missing,” news agency ANI quoted Vivek Pandey, the spokesperson of the force, as saying.
“ITBP rescued 12 people from a tunnel yesterday, these 30 are trapped in a different tunnel. Rescue operations underway in different areas. More teams will be sent there if required, we’re focusing on rescuing people from the tunnel first,” the spokesperson further said.
In scenes reminiscent of the 2013 flash floods in the hilly northern state, a glacier breach in Chamoli unleashed massive flash floods here, inflicting damage to life and property. A multi-agency rescue operation has been launched, involving the army, the air force, state police, ITBP and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). The Centre is in contact with the state government and monitoring developments closely.
