Uttarakhand flash flood — 53 bodies recovered so far as rescue operations continue

Commandant of NDRF PK Tiwari Sunday said taking out bodies from the Tapovan tunnel was proving difficult due to tonnes of debris stuck in it.

Recovered bodies being loaded on to an ambulance in Raini village. The 8th Batallion of the ITBP is combing the area for another body after detecting odour | Photo: Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

Chamoli: A total of 53 bodies have been recovered so far in the Uttarakhand glacier burst incident. The rescue operation is still underway at the Tapovan Tunnel in Chamoli district.

“A total of 53 bodies recovered so far; rescue operation underway at Tapovan Tunnel in Joshimath, Chamoli,” said the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) on Monday. PK Tiwari, Commandant of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Sunday had said that they are facing a few difficulties in taking out the bodies from the tunnel.

Tiwari had said, “Tonnes of the debris is stuck inside the tunnel. There is a limitation to the amount of work that can be done.”

Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Police on Sunday had said that the Alaknanda River at Srinagar in Pauri Garhwal is flowing at the normal level, no alert has been issued by the district administration in this regard.

A glacier burst in the Tapovan-Reni area of Chamoli District of Uttarakhand last week, which led to massive flooding in Dhauliganga and Alaknanda rivers and damaged houses and the nearby Rishiganga power project.