Photo by Lucas Suárez
At least 25 individuals are unaccounted for following an avalanche that occurred in the Indian Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, according to officials.
The avalanche, triggered by blizzard-like conditions, took place on Friday near a highway in the Chamoli region, which borders Tibet. It impacted a worksite operated by the federal Border Roads Organisation (BRO), where eight containers and a shed housing 57 workers were buried under the snow, as reported by the Indian army.
Five of the containers have been found, and efforts to locate the remaining three are currently underway.According to Chamoli District Administrator Sandeep Tiwari, at least 32 workers have been rescued, and there have been no reports of fatalities as of Friday evening.
However, rescue operations are being hindered by strong winds and snowfall, as noted by Deepam Seth, the state’s chief police officer. He stated, “The weather has been characterized by heavy snowfall and strong winds. The roads are entirely blocked. We have dispatched snow cutters to clear the route,” in an interview with NDTV.
Ridhim Agarwal from the state disaster relief force indicated that high-altitude rescue teams will be sent by helicopter to the site once weather conditions improve.
India’s meteorological department has predicted “heavy to very heavy” snowfall, characterized as a minimum of 12 centimeters (5 inches), across the state until Friday, with expectations of a significant reduction thereafter.
Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed his sorrow regarding the incident and is actively overseeing the ongoing rescue operations. Reports from Indian media indicate that the high-altitude camp had been under an avalanche alert since Thursday evening. Avalanches and landslides frequently occur in the higher elevations of the Himalayas.
Research indicates that climate change is intensifying weather patterns, exacerbated by rising ocean temperatures. The rapid development in the delicate Himalayan regions has raised concerns about the consequences of deforestation and construction activities.
In 2021, nearly 100 individuals lost their lives in Uttarakhand when a substantial portion of a glacier collapsed into a river, resulting in flash floods. The catastrophic monsoon floods and landslides in 2013 claimed 6,000 lives and prompted demands for a reassessment of development initiatives in the state.
On Friday, the avalanche coincided with a continued rescue operation in the southern Indian town of Nagarkurnool, where several workers remain trapped in a partially collapsed tunnel.
