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

2:05 AM

Uttarakhand disaster: Rescuers shift strategy, rising Dhauliganga triggers another scare

Rescue agencies began drilling through the debris in the Tapovan tunnel to establish contact with the over 30 people trapped inside after a flash flood, an operation which stalled briefly Thursday when the Dhauliganga river began swelling again.
 

The confirmed death toll in the Uttarakhand disaster rose to 36 with the recovery of two more bodies along the riverbank and 168 people remain missing since Sunday, after an avalanche or a glacier break triggered a surge of water in the Alaknanda river system.
 

In an apparent change in strategy, the rescuers are now also focusing on drilling through the hardened debris in the choked tunnel in Chamoli district, rather than just shifting mounds of silt and sludge heaped there by the sudden flood.
 

The aim for now is to set up a “life-saving system”, possibly to pump oxygen into the blocked tunnel.
 

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the Army are part of the multi-agency rescue effort, which continues even as hopes of finding the trapped workers alive recede with each passing hour.
 

On Thursday afternoon, there was another scare when the water of the Dhauliganga – a tributary of the Alaknanda – began rising again.
 

Rescue workers at the Tapovan site scrambled to safety, pulling their heavy machinery to higher ground. A press briefing ended midway and the operation halted.
 

It resumed after 45 minutes with cautious officials saying they will send in only small teams to the rescue site for now. Barricades were now put up to prevent people from coming too close to the tunnel, which runs parallel to the river.
 

The centre of the rescue operation remains the 1.5-km "head-race tunnel" -- a part of the 2.5-km long network of tunnels -- at the 480-MW Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel power project of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC).
 

Rescuers began the drilling in the early hours of Thursday.
 

2:04 AM

Maha Governor Koshyari meets Rawat

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Thursday met Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat here to discuss the situation in disaster-hit Raini and Tapovan areas in Chamoli district of the state besides other issues.
 

Koshyari, who called on the chief minister at the latter's official residence, was briefed about the active cooperation being given by the agencies concerned in the rescue operations being conducted in the avalanche-hit areas, an official statement said.
 

Koshyari is a former chief minister of Uttarakhand. PTI

 

8:35 PM

Uttarakhand disaster: Rescuers shift strategy, rising Dhauliganga triggers another scare

Rescue agencies began drilling through the debris in the Tapovan tunnel to establish contact with the over 30 people trapped inside after a flash flood, an operation which stalled briefly Thursday when the Dhauliganga river began swelling again. The confirmed death toll in the Uttarakhand disaster rose to 35 with the recovery of another body in Gauchar and 169 people remain missing since Sunday, after an avalanche or a glacier break triggered a surge of water in the Alaknanda river system.

 

In an apparent change in strategy, the rescuers are now also focusing on drilling through the hardened debris in the choked tunnel in Chamoli district, rather than just shifting mounds of silt and sludge heaped there by the sudden flood. The aim for now is to set up a life-saving system, possibly to pump oxygen into the blocked tunnel.

 

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the Army are part of the multi-agency rescue effort, which continues even as hopes of finding the trapped workers alive recede with each passing hour.

8:30 PM

Uttarakhand Glacier Disaster: 36 bodies found so far, of which 10 bodies have been identified, says state govt

Uttarakhand Glacier Disaster: 36 bodies have been recovered so far, of which 10 bodies have been identified, says State Government

8:29 PM

Uttarakhand flood: CM Rawat okays relocation of over 50 families

As Uttarakhand grapples with the effects of an avalanche in its Chamoli district,Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawaton Thursdaygave his nod to relocate over 50 families living in areasextremelyvulnerable to natural disasters in four districts of the state.

 

Rawat cleared the proposal by the Disaster Management Department to relocate and rehabilitate 30 families from Uttarkashi, 13 from Chamoli andfour each from Bageshwar and Tehri districts, an official release said.

 

The families belong to Astalvillage in Uttarkashi,Faldia and Saned in Chamoli, Malladesh in Bageshwar and Bethan in Tehri district. READ ON...

7:44 PM

Rescue operation underway in Uttarakhand: ITBP

Drilling operation towards the slush flushing tunnel was stopped after approx 7-8 meters of drill. A hard rock obstructed the cutters to operate. The rescue teams are now removing the slush again as earlier from machines: Indo-Tibetan Border Police

7:39 PM

First woman IPS officer who scaled South Pole, commando-trained officer leading ITBP ops in Uttarakhand

The rescue operation being undertaken at the Tapovan power tunnel in Uttarakhand is being led by the first woman ITBP officer to successfully scale the South Pole, and some other ace mountain-warfare trained officers of the border guarding force who have seen disasters in the hills up close.

 

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Aparna Kumar, a 2002-batch Indian Police Service officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, is the senior-most field officer of the force on the ground.

 

Kumar, 45, who is the sector in-charge of the ITBP northern frontier based in Uttarakhand's capital Dehradun, is well known as the first woman IPS and ITBP officer to successfully conquer the South Pole, the southernmost point on the globe situated in Antarctica, in 2019. The officer, who has two young children and hails from Karnataka, joined the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in 2018 on deputation. She told PTI on phone from Joshimath that the "operation of clearing the slush in the Tapovan tunnel is continuing".

7:04 PM

Drone cameras deployed to monitor increasing water level of Rishiganga river in Chamoli

6:16 PM

Saving lives in Uttarakhand: Footages that capture daring acts of rescuers

6:08 PM

Demand for higher compensation to Uttarakhand tragedy victims in Rajya Sabha

A demand for raising the compensation for the victims of the recent flash flood in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, which killed at least 35 people, was made in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Raising the issue through a zero hour mention, AAP MP Sanjay Singh claimed 173 persons are still missing and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel are carrying out rescue operations.

 

However, a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for those who lost their lives in the disaster by the central and state governments is inadequate, he said.

 

"The compensation amount should be at least Rs 25 lakh," Singh said, adding that the compensation should also be paid for the property damaged in the disaster.

4:56 PM

Uttarakhand glacier burst: Drilling operation inside Tapovan tunnel suspended

The director of National Thermal Power Corporation's (NTPCs) Tapovan hydropower project - Ujjwal Bhattacharya on Thursday informed that they have suspended drilling operation for a time being as the water is coming in the tunnel in which at least 30 people are feared to be trapped inside.

 

"We had reached a distance of 6 meters and then realised that water is coming there. Had we continued, there would have been issues as rocks are unstable. Excavators would have fallen. So, we have suspended drilling operation for time being," Bhattacharya said.

 

Replying to a question, the in-charge of the project and engineer at NTPC Ahirwar said, "Workers, who were working there and are currently there, are safe. They are trained for 3 days, only then are they sent inside. They are also given pep talk from time to time. All the equipment is tested and certified. So, the crew that was working there is capable."

4:11 PM

Uttarakhand operation on pause, rising water level hampers rescue workers

The water level in the Dhauliganga river surged again on Thursday, forcing rescue workers to suspend efforts to reach the over 30 people trapped in the Tapovan hydel project tunnel after the flash flood four days ago, PTI reported.

 

Officials called it a temporary halt to the massive effort by multi-agency rescuers to break through the sludge and debris that choked the tunnel after Sunday's disaster, which left 34 dead and about 170 missing.

 

Hours before the sudden rise in the water, rescuers had also begun an operation to drill through the debris from the mouth of the river to reach life-saving devices to the trapped workers, an apparent change in strategy after trying to shift mounds of debris. But as the water level rose in the river which flows into the Alaknanda, rescue workers scrambled out of the tunnel with their heavy machinery. Chamoli District Magistrate Swati S Bhadauria said the work has been temporarily halted as a precautionary measure.

3:52 PM

Operation resumes at tunnel in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand

3:30 PM

Uttarakhand glacial burst: Rescue ops halted as water level surges in Rishiganga River

The rescue operation has temporarily halted in Chamoli district following a rise in the level of water in the Rishiganga River, informed Deputy General of Police (DGP) Uttarakhand Ashok Kumar on Thursday. "Orders have been given to vacate the areas downstream," he said.

 

A rescue was underway inside the Tapovan tunnel in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district. Around 30 people are feared trapped inside the tunnel. The Chamoli Police also informed that the water level in the Rishiganga is rising and the people living in nearby areas are being alerted.

 

The police have requested people to be on alert and not to panic. As many as 35 bodies have been recovered from different areas hit by the glacier burst in Chamoli district, while 204 people are still missing. A glacial broke in the Tapovan-Reni area of Chamoli District of Uttarakhand on Sunday, which led to massive flooding in Dhauliganga and Alaknanda rivers and damaged houses and the nearby Rishiganga power project.

3:17 PM

Rescue operation temporarily halted in Uttarakhand due to a rise in water level in Rishiganga river