50 Workers Trapped as Rescue Operations Continue in Chamoli after Avalanche in BRO Project

Avalanche takes a toll on the Border Road Organization project which is located in the Chamoli district. 49 workers have been safely evacuated out of the danger zone and the remaining 6 people trapped inside the project are being evacuated. State Disaster Management Authority has been assigned to the rescue and evacuation process.

CM Pushkar Singh Dhani spoke to PM Narendra Modi who assured of all possible help from their end. The Secretary of SDMA claimed that the “We have been able to rescue 47 people and a search is underway for the remaining eight workers. We are hopeful they will also be rescued soon.”. The workers were under a contract and were assigned to clear the road ahead of the BRO project.

“They were in eight bunkers around 7.15 am when the incident took place on Friday and we are evacuating the workers from these,” claimed a senior official from the District Administration. Sandeep Tiwari, District Magistrate of Chamoli claimed that many rescued individuals have been airlifted to Joshimath Hospital from ITBP Hospital. “The three are stable now. Twenty-eight NDRF personnel have also come to help with the rescue. The weather has cleared now and we are hopeful that aid from the help center will reach the area soon,”

Snow storms and poor visibility had hindered the evacuation process but the teams are tirelessly working to extract all the men trapped. Regarding a conversation with PM Modi, Chief Minister DHami informed that “He also took detailed information on the situation of rain and snowfall in the state. During this, the Prime Minister assured that the central government would provide all possible assistance to deal with any emergency,”

Chief Minister also spoke to the authorities in Mana and also visited the spot to assess the conditions. He also claimed that the rescue operations have been faster as weather conditions improved. Indian Airforce has been deployed to airlift the survivors and transport the survivors to nearby hospitals.

“PMO, HMO, and RMO are constantly taking updates on the situation. Indian Air Force helicopters are also kept on standby, and they will get to work as soon as the weather clears. Some rescue teams are also going by road. We will set up a temporary control room in Joshimath," CM Dhami also informed

Uttrakhand has seen many such cases where people have been killed. In 2022, Draupadi ka Danda Peak claimed the lives of 27 mountaineers. They were students of the Advanced Mountaineering course.