Indian rescuers search for 125 missing after Himalayan glacier burst
Fourteen people are confirmed dead and at least 170 others missing after a part of a Himalayan glacier broke away in India, setting off a torrent of water, rock and dust down a mountain valley, officials said.
“A total of 15 people have been rescued and 14 bodies have been recovered from different places so far,” the state government of Uttarakhand, in the country’s north said on Monday.
Rescue workers were focused on a 2.5 km (1.5 miles) long tunnel where workers were believed trapped.
Vivek Pandey, a spokesman of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force, said 30-35 workers were believed to be inside the tunnel and that rescuers were trying to open its mouth and get inside.
There had been no voice contact yet with anyone in the tunnel, another official said.
On Sunday, 12 people were rescued from another tunnel.
Videos on social media showed water surging through a small dam site, washing away construction equipment and bringing down small bridges.
Some 400 soldiers have been deployed to the site in the remote mountains, state authorities said.
With the main road washed away, the tunnel was filled with mud and rocks and paramilitary rescuers had to climb down a hillside on ropes to get access to the entrance.
Villages on hillsides overlooking the sacred river were evacuated, but authorities later on Sunday said the main flood danger had passed.
Local authorities reported that districts including Pauri, Tehri, Rudraprayag, Haridwar and Dehradun were put on high alert.
The Times of India newspaper quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi as saying he was monitoring the situation in Uttarakhand.
“India stands with Uttarakhand and the nation prays for everyone’s safety there. Have been continuously speaking to senior authorities and getting updates on … rescue work and relief operations,” said Modi.
The prime minister announced an “ex-gratia” or discretionary payment of 200,000 Indian rupees ($2,748) for the families of the deceased, and 50,000 rupees ($687) for those seriously injured in the accident.
Uttarakhand in the Himalayas is prone to flash floods and landslides. In June 2013, record rainfall caused devastating floods that killed close to 6,000.
That disaster was dubbed the “Himalayan tsunami” because of the torrents of water unleashed in the mountainous area, which sent mud and rocks crashing down, burying homes, sweeping away buildings, roads and bridges.
Uma Bharti, India’s former water resources minister and a senior leader of Modi’s party, criticised the construction of a power project in the area.
“When I was a minister, I had requested that Himalaya is a very sensitive place, so power projects should not be built on Ganga and its main tributaries,” she said on Twitter, referring to the main river that flows from the mountain.
Environmental experts called for a halt to big hydroelectric projects in the state.
“The government should no longer ignore warnings from experts and stop building hydropower projects and extensive highway networks in this fragile ecosystem.”
Aljazeera
