Authorities say at least 25 people remain trapped after an avalanche hit a work camp, burying dozens under the snow.
Authorities claim that an avalanche in the Indian
Himalayan state of Uttarakhand left at least 25 people missing. Blizzard-like
conditions caused the avalanche on Friday near a highway in the state’s Chamoli
region, adjoining Tibet.
It struck a worksite of the federal Border Roads Organization
(BRO) where eight containers and one shed with 57 workers inside were buried
under the snow, the Indian army said in a statement.
The statement said five of the containers had
been located, and the search for the remaining three was ongoing.
At least 32 workers had been rescued, Chamoli
District Administrator Sandeep Tiwari told the news agency ANI on Friday
evening, and there was no indication of any casualties.
However, the state's top police officer, Deepam
Seth, stated that the snowfall and strong winds were hampering the rescue
efforts. “It has been snowing with strong winds. … The roads are completely
blocked. We have deployed snow cutters to open the road,” he told broadcaster
NDTV.
Ridhim Agarwal of the state disaster relief force
said high-altitude rescue teams will be deployed by helicopter to the scene
once the weather improves.
India’s weather department expected “heavy to
very heavy” snowfall—defined as at least 12 centimeters (5 inches) of snow—over
the state through Friday and forecast it would then subside “significantly.”.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami
said he was “saddened” by the incident and was monitoring the rescue
operations.
The high-altitude camp had been under an
avalanche warning since Thursday evening, according to Indian media reports.
Avalanches and landslides are common in the upper
reaches of the Himalayas.
Scientists have shown that climate change is
making weather more severe, supercharged by warmer oceans.
The increased pace of development in fragile
Himalayan regions has also heightened fears about the fallout from
deforestation and construction.
In 2021, nearly 100 people died in Uttarakhand
when a huge chunk of a glacier fell into a river, triggering flash floods.
Devastating monsoon floods and landslides in 2013
killed 6,000 people and led to calls for a review of development projects in
the state.
Friday’s avalanche occurred as a parallel rescue
effort continued for a seventh day in the southern Indian town of Nagarkurnool,
where several workers are trapped in a partially collapsed tunnel.
