War footing rescue operations helped the Indian Army rescue 50 workers out of snow brought in by an avalanche at a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp in the high-altitude Mana village in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, but unfortunately four of them died on Saturday.
Six helicopters, including three of the Indian Army Aviation, two of the Indian Air Force and one civil copter hired by the Army, were engaged in the rescue operations, an Army spokesperson said. Thirty-three were rescued by Friday night.
Avalanche hit the BRO camp between Mana and Badrinath between 5:30 am and 6 am on Friday, burying 55 workers inside eight containers and a shed, according to the Army. “Fifty labourers have been rescued out of which, unfortunately, four injured have been confirmed as fatal casualties while the search for the remaining five is underway,” the Army spokesperson said. The injured were being prioritised for evacuation, he said.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami conducted an aerial survey of the affected area and directed officials to speed up the rescue operation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Dhami and assured him of full support.
District Disaster Management Officer NK Joshi said Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel based in Mana resumed the rescue operation in the morning.
According to the spokesperson, Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta GOC-in C Central Command and Lt Gen DG Mishra GOC Uttar Bharat area have reached the avalanche site to monitor the rescue operations. Lt Gen Sengupta said movement by road is impossible since it is clogged with snow. The Badrinath-Joshimath highway is blocked at 15-20 places, he said.
There were eight containers at the BRO camp, of which five have been traced while three are missing. A large number of the labourers rescued so far were found in the five containers, he said.
Avalanches, common enough in winter in Badrinath and Mana valley, become more likely to occur between January and March after fresh snowfall.
The fear of the natural phenomenon explains the centuries-old practice of people living in Mana and adjoining villages to shift to lower areas of the valley after the onset of winter each year.
Environmentalist and Chipko movement leader Chandi Prasad Bhatt said that except the main temple of Badrinath, a large area of Badripuri is highly vulnerable to avalanches. “If we look at the previous incidents of avalanches in this area, then Badripuri keeps suffering damages due to avalanches almost every decade. In 2014, there was heavy damage due to an avalanche in the Narayan Parvat area in Badrinath,” the Gandhi Peace Prize winner said.
In the past, avalanches have caused loss of life and property not only in Badripuri but also in Mana and the adjoining villages, he said. Bhatt said a few years ago, in a meeting, the DRDO scientists working in this area, especially the scientists of ‘SASA’ from Himachal Pradesh, were requested that the areas most sensitive to avalanches should be identified.