Rescue operations continue as 166 people still missing

Dehradun: Following the glacier burst and flash floods, the rescue and search operation entered the seventh day on Saturday in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district with 166 people still missing.

According to the Chamoli Police, as many as 38 bodies have been recovered so far, while the relief and rescue operation is still underway. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel looking for missing persons on the banks of Dhauli Ganga and barrage sites in Tapovan and Raini.

The ITBP personnel also continue to distribute ration and essential items in Suki, Lata and Bhalgaun villages which have been cut off due to flash flood in Dhauliganga.

Meanwhile, a new machine has been brought to Tapovan tunnel in Joshimath, Chamoli district to carry out further drilling. With the help of the machine, the rescue teams began widening a hole drilled into an approach tunnel on the way to the possible location of over 30 people trapped inside a sludge-choked tunnel of the NTPC's Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project.

As per NTPC, excavation has been till 136 metres inside the tunnel. Excavators are also placed at Raini village, a body was found there yesterday. Out of the 204 missing persons, 38 bodies have been recovered and two people were found alive, said Chamoli DM Swati S Bhadoria earlier on Saturday. After a lake was formed near the Raini village in Joshimath due to the glacier burst last week, the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) on Saturday visited the site and informed it is not a danger zone, said Uttarakhand Director-General of Police (DGP) Ashok Kumar.