Rescuers in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli recovered two more bodies from the 1.7km long tunnel at the NTPC’s hydropower project at Tapovan on Tuesday morning, taking the toll from the flash floods in the region on February 7 to 58 even as 146 people remained missing.
About 35 workers are feared to be trapped in the tunnel and rescuers have so far recovered 11 bodies.
District magistrate Swati Bhadauria said, “Till Tuesday morning, 58 bodies have been recovered including 11 from the tunnel...”
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She said 29 of the bodies have been identified. “The search and rescue operation is still on inside the tunnel where rescuers have succeeded in clearing muck up to about 146 metres but are facing difficulty due to heavy muck inside.”
A team of rescuers is clearing sludge from another small underground tunnel beneath the 1.7 km tunnel where about 30 of the total 35 workers were feared trapped.
The rescuers vertically drilled the required depth of 12.7 metres to reach the smaller tunnel on Friday. Apart from the tunnel, they are also clearing the muck from the Rishi Ganga dam and Reni village to find the missing people.
{{/usCountry}}The rescuers vertically drilled the required depth of 12.7 metres to reach the smaller tunnel on Friday. Apart from the tunnel, they are also clearing the muck from the Rishi Ganga dam and Reni village to find the missing people.
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