Uttarakhand Tragedy: 26 killed, 171 still missing, rescue ops underway in Tapovan tunnel

Twenty-six bodies have been recovered and 171 are still missing after the glacier burst in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, as per DGP Ashok Kumar.

"Till 8 pm of 8th February, 26 bodies have been recovered. 171 people still remain missing out of which around 35 are supposed to be in the Tunnel where rescue operation is still going on," tweeted Ashok Kumar, DGP, Uttarakhand.

This comes even as multiple agencies joined hands to rescue at least 30 workers trapped in a 250-metre tunnel at Tapovan. Rescue efforts in the affected areas near Joshimath, gained momentum with teams of the Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) coordinating to rescue 30-35 people feared trapped in a



tunnel at the Tapovan-Vishnugad project.

Officials said 27 people were rescued alive. Of these, 12 were saved from the smaller of the two tunnels at the Tapovan-Vishnugad project site and 15 from the Rishiganga site.

Uttarakhand Director General of Police Ashok Kumar added that efforts were focused on rescuing 30-35 labourers trapped in a 250-metre tunnel at Tapovan.

The State Emergency Operation Centre reported the recovery of more bodies and feared the death toll would rise, a day after a portion of the Nanda Devi glacier possibly burst through its banks in Chamoli district.

It appeared to have triggered an avalanche and a deluge that ripped through the Alaknanda river system in the upper reaches of the ecologically fragile Himalayas.