Dehradun: Four people who were trapped in an avalanche that struck a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) project at Mana in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli have succumbed to their injuries, the Indian Army said Friday as rescue operations continued.
50 of the 55 trapped have been declared safe while five remain missing.
The workers were employed by a contractor to clear the stretch ahead of BRO operations for a road project between Mana village and Mana Pass. They were in their bunkers when the incident took place, district administration authorities said.
According to Lt Col Manish Srivastava, spokesperson of the Army in Dehradun, the injured are being prioritised for evacuation. The search operation by the Army is underway to save the remaining five missing persons.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured all possible assistance from the Centre to deal with the situation.
Friday’s operations began at 7.30 am. The National Disaster Response Force joined the operations, so far being conducted by the Army, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and the BRO.
According to officials, poor visibility and a snowstorm had slowed the rescue operations.
Of the 55 workers initially trapped, 14 are from Bihar, 11 each from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, seven from Himachal Pradesh, one each from Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, and ten from Nepal.
