Uttarakhand glacier burst: 8 killed, 384 rescued

A day after a glacier burst incident in Sumna, Neeti Valley near the India-China border in Chamoli district, 384 people have been rescued, with six of them critically injured and receiving medical treatment. The Indian Army announced on Saturday that eight bodies had been recovered.

So far, 384 people have been rescued. Six of them are critically ill and are undergoing medical treatment. Eight bodies have been found. “A rescue operation is underway,” the Indian Army said.

On Saturday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat conducted an aerial survey of the Sumna area of the Joshimath Sector in Chamoli district.

“Last night, we were contacted by Home Minister Amit Shah. The NDRF and the District Administration are hard at work. ITBP and BRO were notified. The rescue was completed quickly. Today I conducted an aerial survey. The operation is being carried out by BRO, but connectivity is still disrupted “Rawat stated.

According to the Indian Army, “A BRO (Border Roads Organisation) camp was destroyed by an avalanche on the afternoon of April 23 during heavy snowfall in the Sumna area of Joshimath Sector in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district. While 55 BRO personnel could be mustered at the outset, blizzard conditions stymied rescue efforts until late in the evening.”

It also stated that another 150 General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) personnel trapped in the BRO Camp were rescued and brought to safety during the Army’s nighttime rescue operation.

Rescue operations are still underway to locate those who have been trapped under snow or stranded at work sites since late evening. So far, two bodies have been recovered. According to the Indian Army, mountaineering rescue teams and air efforts are on standby for additional rescue operations.

An avalanche struck a location about 4 kilometers ahead of Sumna on the Sumna-Rimkhim road in Uttarakhand around 1600 hours on April 23, 2021. This is on the axis Joshimath-Malari-Girthidobla-Sumna-Rimkhim.

A BRO detachment and two labor camps have been stationed nearby to help with road construction along this axis. Sumna is 3 kilometers away from an Army camp. Multiple landslides have cut off road access in four to five locations. Since last evening, Border Roads Task Force (BRTF) teams from Joshimath have been working to clear the area en route from Bhapkund to Sumna. It will take another six to eight hours to clear this entire axis.

A glacier burst incident occurred in February at Joshimath in Chamoli district, resulting in a massive flood in the Dhauli Ganga river and widespread devastation. Over 50 bodies have been recovered, and hundreds more have been declared missing.