There was a huge avalanche in the Border Roads Organization (BRO) camp near Mana village in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, causing 54 laborers under snow. Relief and rescue teams have so far saved 46 laborers safely, but 5 laborers have died in this painful accident. There are still 3 laborers missing, with the help of investigative dogs and helicopters to find them, the rescue operation continued for the third day on Sunday (February 2).
So far 51 laborers were evacuated, 5 killed
After this incident on February 28, the relief and rescue team had rescued at least 50 laborers till Saturday, but 4 of them could not survive the lives of laborers. On Sunday morning, the Indian Army found another dead body, causing the death toll to 5. Constant efforts are being made to evacuate the remaining 3 laborers. The laborers rescued in Mana Outpost are being treated.
Chief Minister reviewed relief work
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached the State Emergency Operations Center and took stock of the ongoing rescue operations in Mana. He instructed the officials to restore electricity, communication and other facilities in areas affected by avalanche.
District Magistrate of Chamoli, Dr. Sandeep Tiwari said that the relief and rescue operations were resumed as soon as the weather was cleared. The ‘GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) system’ has been called from Delhi to search for missing laborers, which will help in detecting people under snow.
Accident at an altitude of 3200 meters, 54 laborers were stranded
The avalanche took place on Friday in Mana, the last Indian village on the Indo-China border, in which 54 laborers living in 8 containers present in the BRO camp were trapped. Initially, the number of laborers was said to be 55, but later it was learned that a laborer had already returned to his house (Kangra in Himachal Pradesh) safely.
Indian Army and Air Force helicopters engaged in rescue operations
Senior Indian Army officer Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta and GOC Lt Gen D.G. Mishra is present on the spot to monitor the rescue operation.
Helicopter posted in rescue operation:
- 3 helicopters of Aviation Core of Indian Army
- 2 helicopters of Indian Air Force
- 1 civil helicopter rented by army
Relief and rescue operations continue rapidly with the help of a total of 6 helicopters.
Search for four missing laborers continues
Even now, Harmesh Chand of Himachal Pradesh, Ashok of Uttar Pradesh, Anil Kumar of Uttarakhand and Arvind Singh are buried under snow. The army says that the way to reach the spot is blocked by snow in many places, due to which challenges are coming in the campaign.
Using advanced technology, but weather big obstruction
Lieutenant General Sengupta said that more advanced techniques will be used when the weather is clear:
- Rado radar
- UAV (unmanned aircraft)
- Quadcopter (small drone)
- Avalanche Search Trained Dogs in Rescue
More than 200 rescuers engaged in campaign
This major rescue operation consists of more than 200 people, including:
- Disaster management authority
- India Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
- Border Roads Organization (BRO)
- National disaster redemption force (NDRF)
- State disaster response force (sdrf)
- Indian Army and Air Force
- District Administration, Health Department and Fire Service
