Uttarakhand disaster: 5 bodies recovered from Tapovan tunnel

A week after the landslide-triggered flash floods, rescuers pulled out dead bodies from the tunnel of the NTPC power plant at Tapovan in Uttarakhand, where there was some hope of finding survivors.

Five dead bodies were recovered from the tunnel at the under-construction 520 MW NTPC-Vishnugad project site, six bodies were pulled out from the Rishi Ganga project site upstream, while one was washed up at Rudraprayag.

As of now, 50 dead bodies and 22 body parts have been recovered since the February 7 flash floods, believed to have been triggered by an avalanche, that washed away two hydel power projects and left a trail of death and destruction.

Read: What Uttarakhand floods mean for the Char Dham project

At least 37 persons were feared trapped in the tunnel at the Tapovan project site while at least 100 have been feared buried under slush.

Uttarakhand Director General of Police Ashok Kumar said rescue efforts were on at the tunnel.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Police has registered reports related to 66 persons who have been missing since February 7 and DNA samples of 55 relatives have been taken for establishing the identity of the dead.

As many as 24 persons and one body part have been identified so far, while DNA samples of the rest have been taken to help establish their identity.

Some relatives have held protests near the Tapovan tunnel against the alleged delay in the rescue efforts and sought stepping up of search operations at sites other than the tunnel.

Also read: The once-prosperous Uttarakhand villages and their long wait for rehabilitation

Meanwhile, a team of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel, who had visited the site of a lake that had formed at 14,000 feet near Paing village, returned to Tapovan late last night.

SDRF Commandant Navneet Bhullar said there was a steady discharge of water from the lake that had formed on the river Rishi Ganga and it did not pose any threat.

A team of eight SDRF jawans, seven porters and two guides that had trekked to the lake have also identified a site for the landing of the chopper, if necessary for further use.