Chamoli avalanche death toll reaches 15

DEHRADUN: With the recovery of four more bodies by the Indian Army, the death toll in the avalanche that hit Niti Valley area of Chamoli near Indo-china border last week rose to 15 on Monday, officials said.

Swati Bhadoria, Chamoli district magistrate, said two bodies were recovered on Sunday night while two more were recovered on Monday. She added that the bodies were being brought to Joshimath in Chamoli area for post-mortem exam and completion of other formalities so that death certificates could be issued as soon as possible.

Bhadoria also said that at least three to four people are still believed to be missing. As many as 384 people who were working with BRO were shifted to a safer location, she added.

The snow avalanche, which occurred at around 4pm on Friday, hit Sumna area near the border at an altitude of over 11,000ft when several labourers of Border Road Organisation were working at the site. A search and rescue operation was immediately initiated by the personnel of the Indian Army’s Central Command to rescue the trapped persons. Seven persons were injured in the incident. While one of them was brought to Dehradun, the remaining were taken to AIIMS Rishikesh for treatment.

The avalanche occurred less than 100km from Raini village which was affected by a glacier breach on February 7. The breach triggered an avalanche and deadly floods, killing at least 72 people and destroying two hydroelectric projects.