Uttarakhand disaster: 2 more bodies recovered from Tapovan tunnel in Chamoli

Mangalore Today News Network

Chamoli, Feb 16, 2021:     Two more bodies have been recovered from the Tapovan tunnel in Joshimath area of Chamoli district in Uttarakhand, after a glacier burst resulted in massive flooding of the Alaknanda and Dhauliganga rivers on February 7. The total death toll has now gone up to at least 57.

 

On Monday, the death toll crossed 50 after the search team recovered a total of 15 bodies from the sludge-chocked Tapovan tunnel. Besides the people who have died, approximately 150 others are still missing.

Personnel from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police along with the National Disaster Response Force and other agencies have been conducting a search and rescue operation in the Chamoli district.

It may be noted that the multi-agency rescue effort in Chamoli district is primarily focused on recovering bodies of 30 workers who were trapped in the tunnel after the floods.

On Saturday, rescuers began boring a wider and deeper hole into the tunnel at the Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project in an attempt to find the 30 odd people tapped inside the tunnel for nearly a week after the Uttarakhand glacier burst triggered flash floods in the area.

"We are working under a three-pronged strategy to reach those trapped in the tunnel,” said General Manager of the NTPC project, RP Ahirwal.

Ahirwal said that that a hole drilled on Friday was widened on Saturday to one foot to insert a camera and pipe inside the silt-flushing tunnel where the workers are trapped.

Rescue operations have entered the tenth day on Tuesday and it is likely that more bodies will be recovered from the tunnel where some workers remain trapped over a week after the disaster.

Courtesy:India Today