India to declare 136 people missing in flash flood disaster dead

A total of 1 people missing following a ash ood in northern India earlier this month will be declared dead, authorities said on Tuesday.

A huge chunk of a glacier fell into the Alaknanda river system in Uttarakhand state on February 7 triggering a massive ood that washed away parts of two hydropower plants, roads and bridges in the region.

At least bodies had been recovered after the Himalayan region was hit by one of its worst tragedies in recent years, senior state disaster management official Piyoosh Rautela said.

Anyone still untraced will be declared dead to allow the government to start the process of compensating the families, Rautela told dpa by phone from state capital Dehradun.

This was also being done as families have to deal with legal and property matters after the passing of their kin, he said.

“The process of issuing death certificates will begin today and should be completed in a month. There are several issues involved as claims are made and police inquiries take place, all this takes time,” Rautela said.

The victims were washed away by raging oodwaters or buried by debris on the river bed. Some workers were trapped as slush and debris

ooded a tunnel at the Tapovan power project and only a few bodies were found.

A multi-agency search and rescue operation has been under way and authorities say search efforts to locate the missing will continue although the chances of finding survivors was remote.

Uttarakhand is an ecologically sensitive region prone to

ash oods and landslides.