Page 2 - Avalanche

7 tourists killed, 23 rescued in massive avalanche in Sikkim's Nathula

Six tourists were killed and 11 others injured in a major avalanche in Sikkim's Nathula area on Tuesday, police officials said here. The injured are being brought to the state capital Gangtok's hospital. "Rescue and clearance operations are still on," a senior police official here said. Nathula Pass is situated on the border with China and is a major tourist destination because of its scenic beauty.

Sikkim avalanche: Shah says govt closely monitoring, NDRF reaching spot

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday condoled the death of tourists in an avalanche in Sikkim and said the central government is closely monitoring the situation. At least seven tourists were killed as a massive avalanche hit Sikkim's Nathu La area on Tuesday morning, burying their vehicles under the snow. "My sincerest condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives in the tragic avalanche in Sikkim. We are closely monitoring the situation and the teams of NDRF will reach the affected area soon. I pray for the speedy recovery of those injured," Shah tweeted. The avalanche hit the arterial Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, which connects Gangtok to Nathu La at the China border around 11.30 am, trapping five-six vehicles with around 30 people under the snow, the Army said in a statement. Till 4 pm, seven bodies were brought out of the snow and 23 people were rescued alive, including six tourists from a deep valley, a state government official said, quoting reports from the

Assam Rifles assists in relief, rescue operations in avalanche-hit Sonamarg

The Army on Monday assisted the civil administration in carrying out rescue and relief operations in Sonamarg area of Jammu and Kashmir after an avalanche left nine houses damaged, officials said. The avalanche hit Rezan village in Sonamarg area of Ganderbal district on Sunday night. Besides damaging the houses, 14 domestic animals perished in the avalanche, they said. No human casualties have been reported in the incident. Troops of the 34 Assam Rifles assisted the district administration in rescue operation which was launched this morning. The residents were moved to safer places on Sunday evening soon after the avalanche struck.

Avalanches, flash flood destroy 20 houses in northern Afghanistan

Calling for providing assistances to the affected families, the official warned that overlooking the miseries of the disaster-affected families would lead to a tragedy in the ill-fated village

Avalanche near Vishnuprayag hydel project in Uttarakhand; no casualty

An avalanche occurred on a hill slope near the Vishnuprayag hydro electric project in Uttarakhand Sunday evening, officials said. There was no damage to life and property, Chamoli District Disaster Management Officer N K Joshi said on Monday, adding that such avalanches are normal in the Himalayas. A mass of snow slid down the mountainside close to the 420 MW hydel project's barrage site following the avalanche. The barrage is close to the Badrinath National Highway and a few hundred metres down the Khiron river, which is considered one of the most dangerous tributaries of the Alaknanda river.

Avalanche kills 2 BRO labourers, 1 missing in Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul

Two labourers of Border Roads Organisation (BRO) were killed while another is missing after an avalanche hit them near Chika in the Lahaul subdivision of Lahaul-Spiti district on Sunday evening.

Heavy snow hits Alps; avalanches kills 9 in Italy, Austria over weekend

Nine people died in avalanches in Austria and Italy over the weekend as heavy snow and school holidays drew skiers into the Alps, with some of the victims dying after skiing in unmarked areas despite warnings of elevated avalanche risk, police said. On Sunday a snow plow driver in East Tirol in Austria was recovered dead after being swept away. In Oetztal a 32-year-old Chinese skier died, while in Zillertal a 17-year old male from New Zealand was buried and in Kleinwalsertal a 55-year-old German man missing since Friday was found dead. More than a dozen avalanches were reported in the Tirol region of Austria alone and authorities had set the warning level at four on a scale of five and urged caution. A 31-year-old German woman was killed on Saturday in the South Tirol region of Italy when a snowmass broke loose at 2,200 metres (7,200 feet) near the Limo Pass some 80 kilometres (50 miles) east of Bolzano, the dpa news agency reported. Rescue efforts were complicated by ...

Death toll after avalanche on Tibet highway rises to 13, rescue efforts on

The death toll in an avalanche that buried vehicles outside a highway tunnel in Tibet has risen to 13 with rescue efforts continuing, authorities said Friday

J&K avalanche: Army evacuates stranded workers from Zojila tunnel project

The Indian Army rescued and evacuated 172 workers stranded in an avalanche at the Zojila Tunnel construction site on Saturday.According to an Army statement, in a major avalanche near Sarbal Nilagrar, workers of the construction company got stuck.The rescue teams of the Army and Jammu & Kashmir Police swung into action and after hours of gruelling effort finally all 172 workers were brought to safety.This incident happened on January 12 in which three workers lost their lives, said Army.The Army pressed into effect avalanche rescue equipment and rescue dogs.A low-intensity avalanche struck the Sarbal area in the Ganderbal district of Jammu & Kashmir on Saturday."A low-intensity avalanche hit Sarbal area where the Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) workshop was being held," officials said.As reported by company officials everyone is safe. No loss of life or property is reported, they said, while adding that police and SDRF teams have been ...

Avalanche hits Jammu & Kashmir's Gurez; warning issued for 12 districts

An avalanche hit a village in Gurez sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora district on Saturday, but there was no loss of life or damage to property, officials said, An avalanche warning has been issued for 12 districts including Bandipora after moderate to heavy snowfall a day before, they said. The avalanche hit Jurniyal village of Gurez this afternoon but there was no damage, the officials said. The State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) on Saturday issued a 'high danger' avalanche warning for Kupwara district of north Kashmir and a 'medium danger' warning for Bandipora, Baramulla, Doda, Ganderbal, Kishtwar, Poonch, Ramban and Reasi districts. "Avalanche with high danger level is likely to occur above 2,000 metres of Kupwara district in the next 24 hours. Avalanche with medium danger level is likely to occur above 2,000 metres over Bandipora, Baramulla, Doda, Ganderbal, Kishtwar, Poonch, Ramban and Reasi districts in the next 24 hours," SDMA officials said. They said avala

Avalanche warning issued for 10 districts of Jammu and Kashmir

"Avalanche with high danger level is likely to occur above 2,000 metres of Bandipora and Kupwara districts in the next 24 hours

Trekker missing after avalanche near Friendship Peak in Himachal Pradesh

A trekker has gone missing after an avalanche near the Friendship Peak in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district, officials said on Sunday. Sachin and Ashutosh, residents of Chopal in Shimla district, and Sahil from Manali had started their trek to the peak on November 17, they said. However, Sachin returned to the base camp due to high-altitude sickness while the remaining two continued their journey, the officials said. Ashutosh, who was on the edge of the mountain, was hit by the avalanche when he was just 20 metres short of the summit and he fell towards the DhundiAtal tunnel side on Saturday, Adventure Tour Operator Association vice president Joginder Thakur said. Sahil came back to Manali and reported the matter to police following which a nine-member search team was formed to look for the missing trekker. Thakur was part of the team that carried out search operations on Sunday, with sources saying it is yet to locate Ashutosh. The team has four police personnel, including the l

Uttarakhand avalanche: Search for two mountaineers continues for 11th day

Search for the two mountaineers who continue to be missing after the October 4 avalanche in the district went on for the 11th day on Friday amid bad weather. Meanwhile, one more body recovered earlier was brought to the district hospital here to be handed over to the relatives after a post-mortem. Inclement weather at the avalanche site located at an altitude of 17,000 feet near Draupadi ka Danda-II peak has been hampering search and rescue efforts for nearly a week. Two mountaineers out of a team of 29 are still missing, Registrar of Nehru Institute of Mountaineering Vishal Ranjan said. Twenty-seven bodies have already been recovered and brought down, he said. Those who went missing after the avalanche are said to have fallen into a crevasse. However, the body of trainee mountaineer Sourav Biswas from West Bengal, which had been recovered earlier was brought to the ITBP camp at Matli and then to the district hospital here on Friday, he said. The body will be handed over to rel

Uttarkashi avalanche: Five more bodies discovered, brought back to Matli

Bodies of five more avalanche victims were brought to the ITBP camp in Matli on Monday, even as continuous snowfall hampered the efforts to locate two mountaineers still missing. The discovery of five more bodies on Monday takes the number of bodies brought down from the summit camp so far to 26, Uttarkashi District Magistrate Abhishek Ruhela said. "One body is still at the summit camp while search for the two missing mountaineers continues," he said. Twenty-nine climbers, including 27 trainees and two instructors, who were part of an advanced mountaineering course at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering had gone missing after they were struck by a massive avalanche at an altitude of 17,000 feet on their way back from Draupadi ka Danda-II peak on October 4. A multi-agency search-and-rescue operations by the SDRF, ITBP, Army and IAF was launched on the same day, which still continues. "Continuous snowfall over the avalanche-hit site is hampering search operation. But efforts to fi

Uttarkashi avalanche triggers debate, experts differ over factors

The recent avalanche near Draupadi Ka Danda-II peak that killed at least 26 mountaineers in Uttarkashi district has triggered a debate among scientists and experts about the contributing factors. While there is no unanimous view on the possible reasons, most of them feel attributing the avalanche to a mild earthquake that rocked Uttarkashi two days earlier was incorrect. The tremor, measuring 2.5 on the Richter scale, hit Uttarkashi on October 2. It was too mild and its epicentre too far from the avalanche site, said a scientist at Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology here. "The mild-intensity earthquake occurred two days before the avalanche and its epicentre was in a village whose aerial distance from the peak is around 25 km," Manish Mehta, a scientist at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology here said. "So it is least likely that the avalanche was caused by the earthquake." One expert attributed the avalanche to higher snowfall in the region. Snowfall in the upper Himalaya

Uttarakhand: Bad weather hampers rescue efforts for missing mountaineers

Search efforts for the three missing mountaineers were hamstrung by heavy snowfall on Friday over the avalanche-hit site near the Draupadi ka Danda' peak. Twenty-nine members of a team from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering had gone missing after an avalanche hit them on their way back from the summit, according to the NIM. Twenty-six bodies have since been recovered and three are still missing. Four out of twenty six bodies retrieved so far have already been handed over to their families. Efforts are on to bring down the rest. With weather conditions obstructing the search efforts, relatives who have come to Uttarkashi from different parts of the country are getting impatient. Aerial rescue operations can be resumed only after the weather improves, District Disaster Management Officer Devendra Patwal said.

Uttarkashi avalanche: 10 more bodies recovered, toll climbs to 26

Ten more bodies were recovered from the site of an avalanche here, taking the death toll to 26, the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering said on Friday. Two Cheetah helicopters took off from the Army helipad in Harsil to join the search operations, officials said. The avalanche occurred at a height of 17,000 feet on Tuesday when a team of the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) was returning after summiting Draupadi Ka Danda II peak. Three more bodies were recovered from the avalanche site late on Thursday evening and seven were found on Friday, taking the total number of bodies retrieved so far to 26, the NIM said. While 24 of these bodies are of trainee mountaineers, two are of their instructors, it said. According to the NIM, three trainees are still missing. Fifteen bodies were recovered on Thursday, the NIM said. Four of the bodies that were being brought to Matli were taken to the Harsil helipad due to bad weather. From there, they were sent to Uttarkashi in ambulances, .

Uttarkashi avalanche: 12 more bodies retrieved, death toll rises to 16

The death toll in the Uttarkashi avalanche rose to 16 after 12 more mountaineers' bodies were recovered on Thursday, Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) said. Fifteen climbers are still believed to be missing. The avalanche occurred at a height of 17,000 feet on Tuesday when the NIM team was returning after summiting Draupadi Ka Danda II peak. Of the 16 bodies retrieved, 14 are of trainees and two of instructors, NIM said in a bulletin. Four bodies were recovered on the day of the avalanche. A search-and-rescue operation is in progress at the disaster site, the institute said. However, helicopters were pulled from the operation due to bad weather. Their operation will resume on Friday morning depending on the weather, it added. Earlier in the day, a 14-member team from High Altitude Warfare School based in Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir joined the rescue operation, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) here said. Nayab Subedar Anil Kumar, the instructor leading the team,

10 bodies retrieved, 27 mountaineers missing after avalanche in Uttarkashi

Twenty-seven mountaineers remained missing on Wednesday after rescue workers brought 14 injured members of their team to safety, a day after an avalanche claimed 10 lives in Uttarkashi. The Uttarakhand Police said on Facebook that 10 bodies have been retrieved so far as a multi-agency search and rescue operation aided by IAF helicopters continued through the day to find those missing. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami did an aerial inspection of the area, which is at a height of 17,000 feet, that was hit by the avalanche on Tuesday and told reporters that 27 climbers are still missing. He said he prayed for their safety even as personnel of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and mountaineers from the Nehru Institute Of Mountaineering (NIM) are trying to find the missing climbers. "Out of 34, 27 are still missing, Dhami told reporters after the aerial survey along with Haridwar MP and former Union ...

14 rescued as search ops in avalanche-hit Uttarakhand peak resumes

Fourteen members of a mountaineering team which had gone missing after being hit by an avalanche at Draupadi Ka Danda peak in Uttarakashi district were rescued on Wednesday as a multi-agency rescue operation aided by IAF helicopters was underway to find the several others missing. Principal of the Uttarkashi-based Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) Col Amit Bisht had said on Tuesday that ten bodies were spotted out of which four had been recovered.However, police confirmed the death of four. Earlier in the day, the Uttarakhand Police released a list of 28 trainee mountaineers who were missing in the avalanche at the height of 17,000 feet. Sub Divisional Magistrate, Bhatwari, Chattar Singh Chauhan said 14 members of the team out of which six had sustained minor injuries in the avalanche were airlifted to Matli in two sorties, Eight more rescued in another sortie are alright, he said, adding they are being sent back to the NIM. Out of the 14 rescued so far 10 are trainees and f