Hopes of tunnel rescue dim as flood toll hits 32
Rescuers scoured ravines and waded through slush to find victims of devastating flash floods in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli region on Tuesday but struggled to break through a column of mud and debris choking a key tunnel with dozens of workers trapped inside.
Toll from the tragedy climbed to 32 as rescue personnel pulled out bodies, some of which were lodged in knee-deep silt or atop trees. At least 174 people are still missing — 35 of them inside the 1.7km tunnel at the Tapovan power project where two days of excavation has failed to make much headway.
“There is almost no progress… there is a ‘T bend’ at a distance of 180m but there is so much muck inside that after clearing till 150m, the muck from inside is again filling the cleared area,” said state director general of police Ashok Kumar.
In Delhi, Union home minister Amit Shah told Parliament that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was monitoring the situation and that efforts were being made on a war footing to rescue people.
“I assure the House that the Centre is extending all possible assistance to the state government for relief and rescue work. The central government is working in close coordination with the state and all necessary steps, which are considered
WASHINGTON: Popular singer and The Supremes co-founder Mary Wilson has died, US media reported on Tuesday. She was 76.
She founded the US group aged 15 while living in a Detroit housing project, according to Variety, and continued with the band long after lead singer Diana Ross’ departure, eventually going on to be inducted into the 1988 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
She died at her Las Vegas home on Monday. She was born March 12, 1944 in Greenville, Mississippi.
Wilson and Ballard founded the group that would eventually become known as the Supremes. Despite limited early success, the band struck success in the late sixties with hits like “Stop! In the Name of Love” and “Baby Love”. Following Ross’s departure in 1970 for a solo career the group never regained its dominance on the US charts, but did enjoy some hits such as “River Deep, Mountain High”.