9-10 Bodies Recovered, 150 Labourers Missing As Glacier Bursts In Uttarakhand

Chamoli: At least nine to ten bodies were recovered after a glacier broke off in Joshimath in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on Sunday, causing a massive flood in the Dhauli Ganga river.

According to latest reports, Over 150 labourers working at a power project in Tapovan-Reni are believed to be dead and the flash floods have damaged the Rishiganga Power Project in Tapovan area and have endangered the lives of people living along the banks of Dhauli Ganga. The flooding has also washed away the Joshimath-Malari bridge.

Homes along the way were swept away as the waters rushed down the mountainsides in a raging torrent. There were fears of damage in human settlements downstream. Many villages were evacuated and people taken to safer areas.

Several districts, including Pauri, Tehri, Rudraprayag, Haridwar and Dehradun, that were likely to be affected were put on high alert and forces of the ITBP and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rushed in to help with the rescue and relief effort.

Representatives of the power project have told me that they are not being able to contact around 150 of their workmen at the project site,said State Disaster Response Force DIG Ridhim Aggarwal.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat appealed to people to not spread rumours through old flood videos and all required measures are being undertaken to tackle the crisis

He said all districts concerned have been alerted and people have been asked not to go near the Ganga.

Rawat cancelled all his programmes scheduled for the day. He is likely to visit Chamoli to take stock of the situation.

In 2013, following a cloudburst over Kedarnath, Uttarakhand had witnessed one of the worst floods in its history