Uttarakhand avalanche: Rescuers race against time to save last 8 workers; heavy snowfall hamper ops

Efforts are underway to rescue the last eight workers trapped under the snow following a glacier outburst in Uttarakhand’s Mana village on Friday. Rescue forces pulled out 14 workers on Saturday and 47 of the 55 labourers of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) have been rescued.

According to officials, the Indian Army carried out rescue operations all through the night and 14 labourers were rescued on Saturday alone. The rescued workers were rushed to Joshimath for medical aid. Efforts are underway to rescue eight more workers now, who have been trapped for over 24 hours.

Helicopters were deployed for the operation after the weather cleared, officials said. Chamoli District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari said three of the labourers who were rescued on Friday in critical condition and were undergoing treatment at the ITBP hospital in Mana were airlifted to the Jyotirmath Army Hospital, PTI reported.

Located three kilometres from Badrinath, Mana is the last village on the India-Tibet border at a height of 3,200 metres.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami conducted an aerial survey and reviewed the rescue efforts on Saturday. Dhami said, “ARMY, NDRF, ITBP, and district administration personnel are there for the rescue work. Due to heavy snowfall, all the roads connecting the site have been blocked. We are trying to rescue all those who are still trapped as soon as possible. The 14 workers who were rescued today, all are safe, and they are being brought to Joshimath,” ANI reported.

Meanwhile, arrangements have been made at AIIMS Rishikesh to provide tertiary care treatment for the rescued workers. According to a list released by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority, the trapped labourers are from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir, among other states, PTI reported.