Five more bodies found in Chamoli, toll rises to 56

DEHRADUN: Rescue workers involved in the search and rescue operation recovered five more bodies in flash flood-hit Chamoli till Monday evening, taking the total death toll to 56 with 148 still missing. The rescuers have dug the main Tapovan tunnel up to 140 metres but are facing difficulties due to water percolation in the muck.

Among the five bodies, three were recovered from the 1.7-kmlong Tapovan tunnel at NTPC’s hydel power project where over 25 workers are feared to be trapped.

So far nine bodies have been recovered from the tunnel where the rescue workers succeeded in recovering bodies for the first time on Sunday after starting the rescue and search operation there after the disaster on February 7.

Of the total 204 people missing, 139 are from the NTPC’s hydel power project at Tapovan while 53 from the Rishi Ganga project which were damaged in the February 7 disaster. About 12 villagers are also missing in the disaster.

State DGP Ashok Kumar said, “Till Monday evening, the total bodies recovered are 56 including nine from the tunnel while remaining from other places.”

“Out of the total bodies recovered, 29 have been identified while 27 are yet to be identified.

The search and rescue operation is still on inside the tunnel where rescuers have succeeded in clearing muck up to 140 metres but are facing difficulty because the more they dig, more muck comes from inside.”

A team of another rescue workers is clearing sludge from another small underground tunnel beneath the 1.7-km tunnel where about 30 of the total 35 workers were feared to trapped.

The rescue workers had vertically drilled the required depth of 12.7 metres to reach the smaller underground tunnel on Friday. Apart from the tunnel, they are also clearing the muck from the Rishi Ganga dam and Reni village to find the missing people.