Indian Army steps up rescue efforts in Uttarakhand, death toll mounts to 31

Rescue workers at the site said there were restrictions on the use of earth-moving machines inside the tunnel as it grows narrow as one moves forward

Army on Tuesday stepped up efforts to rescue 37 persons trapped in a tunnel of an NTPC hydel project here even as the death toll from the landslide triggered by a glacier burst rose to 31.

Earth-movers, excavators have been working non-stop for the past since Sunday afternoon to reach out to 37 persons trapped in the 1.8 km arc-shaped tunnel of the 520 MW run-of-river power project being developed in Tapovan.

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“There is lot of slush inside the tunnel. We have deployed men and machines to clear the tunnel of the debris. Rescuers were also rappelling from the top of the tunnel to reach out to the trapped workers,” Major General Rajiv Chibber told reporters here. Rescue workers feared the worst as chances of finding anyone alive appeared bleak given the limited oxygen levels inside the tunnel which was swamped with the debris from the landslide on Sunday morning.

“Our spirits are up as we were able to rescue 17 persons alive on Sunday. We will leave no stone unturned to reach out to those who are trapped,” Sher Singh Butola, Assistant Commandant of the First Battalion of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) told DH.

Rescue workers DH spoke to at the site said there were restrictions on the use of earth-moving machines inside the tunnel as it grows narrow as one moves forward. There are chances of the earth-moving machines hitting the roof, which may lead to a collapse. “We are now deploying small excavators inside the tunnel,” one rescue worker said.

The ITBP was among the first responders to the tragedy on Sunday with the teams from the Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams joining the rescue efforts soon after. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat visited Lata in Chamoli district on Tuesday to meet the residents of the avalanche-hit villages.

Rawat, who reached Tapovan on Monday evening to review rescue efforts, undertook an aerial survey of the affected areas on Tuesday and also met 12 workers who were rescued from the tunnel on Sunday evening. According to the State Emergency Operation Centre, the death toll has risen to 31 with the recovery of five bodies on Tuesday. At least 175 people were still missing.