Uttarakhand flood LIVE: 36 bodies recovered yet; 169 people missing

Uttarakhand flood latest news: About 600 rescue workers are involved in the rescue operation. Stay tuned for LIVE updates

10:27 AM

Uttarakhand glacier tragedy: Rescue teams have started drilling operation to peep into the tunnel

10:11 AM

Uttarakhand: ITBP troops help in constructing Jhula bridge across disconnected villages in Chamoli

Uttarakhand: ITBP troops help in constructing Jhula bridge across disconnected villages in Chamoli. This will be used to transport ration from one side of the bridge to another side.

8:28 AM

Uttarakhand LIVE: Drilling operation started by rescue teams

8:14 AM

Uttarakhand disaster: Drones and more deployed to locate workers trapped in tunnel

Using drones and remote-sensing equipment, rescue teams have intensified efforts to reach the 25-35 men trapped in a sludge-choked tunnel as over 170 people remained missing after the Uttarakhand disaster three days ago.

8:09 AM

UP govt sets up control room in Haridwar to search for missing people from state

The Uttar Pradesh government has set up a control room here in search of people from the state who went missing after the recent deluge in Chamoli district.

 

A total of 93 people from Uttar Pradesh who worked in different hydel projects in the flood-hit area had gone missing after the disaster in Chamoli district, state's Sugarcane Minister Suresh Rana told reporters at the control room set up at Bhimgaura barrage here.

 

While 21 of them were rescued, the bodies of two have been recovered and 70 are still missing, Rana said.

 

Rana had come here along with two other ministers -- Dharm Singh Saini and Vijay Kashyap -- on the instructions of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday to review the situation in the state in the wake of the avalanche that occurred on Sunday.

10:53 PM

Rishiganga project: Bridge reconstruction underway at Raini

10:19 PM

Rescue operation continues inside Tapovan tunnel in Joshimath

8:44 PM

ITBP with local officials supply ration to a village near Indo-China border

8:36 PM

Uttarakhand disaster: Drones deployed to locate workers trapped in tunnel

Using drones and remote-sensing equipment, rescue teams intensified efforts on Wednesday to reach the 25-35 men trapped in a sludge-choked tunnel since the Uttarakhand glacier disaster three days ago and more than 170 remained missing, hopes of finding them alive fading with every passing hour.

 

The multi-agency rescue operation at the NTPC hydel project site has been going on uninterrupted since Sunday, when a possible glacier break in the upper reaches of the Himalayas triggered an avalanche and floods in the Alaknanda river system, with no breakthrough in sight, officials said.

 

So far, 32 bodies have been recovered from different places in the disaster-hit areas of Chamoli district. Eight bodies have been identified and 174 people are still missing, the State Emergency Control Centre in Dehradun said. READ ON...

8:15 PM

Uttarakhand floods: Kin of missing protest at Rishiganga power project site

The families of workers missing from the Rishiganga hydel project site created a ruckus here on Wednesday accusing the authorities of not carrying out the rescue operations properly after the sudden flood in the Alaknanda river system wreaked havoc.

 

The kin of around 40 missing workers engaged a heated argument with the authorities of the project for two hours, alleging lack of urgency in the rescue work. It is four days since the tragedy occurred but all the focus is on restoring connectivity. Rescuing the missing people does not seem to be the priority," alleged a man from Punjab, whose brother Jugal worked at the Rishiganga hydel project.

 

"Jugal's phone rings when his number is dialed," he said.

7:40 PM

Migrant workers stranded in villages that were cut off after glacier burst

7:24 PM

Uttarakhand disaster: Two persons return home safely after being stranded in Chamoli

Two persons who were listed as missing in the avalanche and flash floods in Uttarakhand returned to their homes safely on Wednesday after being stranded in different areas of Chamoli district following the calamity three days ago, a PTI report said. Suraj Singh from Chamoli in Uttarakhand and Rashid from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh returned to their homes on Wednesday, Additional District Information Officer, Chamoli, Ravindra Negi said.

 

Singh and Rashid were among those missing after the calamity, as per official records.

 

The duo were stranded while they were returning to their villages, the officials said. Rescue teams intensified efforts on Wednesday to reach the 25-35 men trapped in a sludge-choked tunnel since the glacier disaster three days ago in the district and more than 170 remain missing.

7:16 PM

ITBP conducts an air recce to take stock of area from where glacier burst caused flash floods

6:40 PM

Dalai Lama writes to Uttarakhand CM, offers sympathy, support to people

Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has written to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, expressing his condolences to the families of the people killed in a glacier disaster in Chamoli district of the state.

 

A glacier burst at Joshimath on Sunday triggered an avalanche and a deluge in the Alaknanda river system that wreaked havoc and washed away hydroelectric stations. The death toll was 32 as on Tuesday with multiple agencies racing against time to reach 25-35 workers trapped inside a tunnel at the power project site and 174 people are missing.

6:17 PM

ITBP recce team visits glacier-burst site; DG says tunnel op to continue till trapped found

An ITBP reconnaissance team visited the glacier-break site on Wednesday that is suspected to have triggered the massive flash flood in Uttarakhand even as its chief S S Deswal said the rescue operation to locate the 30-35 workers trapped in Tapovan tunnel will continue till it reaches a "logical conclusion."

 

Deswal told PTI that the paramilitary force is "very hopeful" that the workers in the about 1,500 metre long tubular structure marked as 'head race tunnel', out of the total 2.5 km length, are safe with the help of possible air vents in the structure.

 

"We are very hopeful that we will be able to rescue them. The workers are stated to be located at their work station that is about 180 metres from the mouth of the Tapovan tunnel," the ITBP chief said. "I can tell you that we will continue our efforts till any length of time... for whatever time it takes to reach the logical conclusion and find the workers. My boys are determined to locate those trapped there and we may reach that slip tunnel spot (where those trapped are said to be located) by Wednesday evening," he said.

 

A multi-agency team of rescuers comprising the ITBP, NDRF, state disaster response force and the Army have cleared about 120 metres of slush inside the 22-25 feet high tunnel till now but continuous flow of the silt is hampering their rescue efforts.