Uttarakhand glacier burst: Over 150 missing, 10 bodies recovered, says ITBP

Nearly 150 people are missing or feared dead as a sudden flood inundated a power project at Reni village in Joshimath area of Uttarakhands Chamoli district on Sunday following a glacier burst the ITBP which is engaged in rescue and relief operations there saidCiting updated inputs received from local administration ITBP spokesperson Vivek Pandey told IANS at least 10 bodies have been recovered so far from the spot and several people have been rescued while that there is no information about other personsIn its initial information received from the spot the ITBP had through a statement that more than 100 labourers at the barrage and 50 plus in the tunnel lost their life as per the incharge of Tapovan NTPC work site As many as 150 people are missingClarifying these inputs Pandey said As 150 people are still missing it is difficult to say that all are dead They can be said feared dead or missing Missing persons cannot be declared dead till seven yearsThe tragedy took place after the water level in Dhauliganga river one of the six sources of the Ganga river suddenly surged on Sunday morning following an avalanche near the Rishi Ganga power project The 85 km river meets the Alaknanda river at Vishnuprayag at the base of Joshimath mountainThe ITBP said that the flash flood occurred in Rishi Ganga at around 1045 am due to a glacier falling into it and exponentially increasing the volume of waterDue to this the Rishi Ganga hydro project was completely devastated it saidThe BRO bridge on Joshimath highway was also completely washed away There were six graziers with their livestock there and they were also swept away by the flash flood the ITBP saidRishiganga meets Dhauliganga near Reni village So Dhauliganga also got flooded Five to six houses of the village were also washed away An NTPC project on river Dhauliganga near Tapovan was completely devastated Two Jhula bridges connecting villages on the other side of the river were also washed awayTwo bodies were recovered at Tapovan NTPC site One more was recovered from Chamoli village near Tapovan About 16 to 17 labourers are safe inside the tunnel the ITBP said adding that an operation to rescue them was onAround 250 personnel of ITBP are carrying out rescue and search operations on the site The paramilitary force said connectivity of its Border Outposts was totally restricted due to the bridge destruction near Reni villageUttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat who put the number of missing at 125 expressed sorrow over the loss of lives in the incident and declared Rs 4 lakh compensation to the family of those whose bodies have been recovered from the spot Rawat who visited the spot is taking stock of the situation and supervising rescue and relief operationsThough the impact of the disaster may not be felt in Rishikesh and Haridwar the temple towns have been put on alertA government spokesman said that there was not much human habitation at the site where the glacier broke apart but a number of power projects have been hitThe government has appealed to the people not to venture near the Ganga riverPresident Ram Nath Kovind Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have spoken to the Chief Minister to take stock of the situation in the stateThe Prime Minister during his Assam tour reviewed the situation in Uttarakhand during a telephonic conversation with Rawat and other top officials and the rescue and relief work underwayThe Prime Minister in a tweet said that he is constantly monitoring the unfortunate situation in UttarakhandIndia stands with Uttarakhand and the nation prays for everyones safety there Have been continuously speaking to senior authorities and getting updates on NDRF deployment rescue work and relief operationsMeanwhile Home Minister Shah also spoke to Rawat and IntoTibetan Border Police ITBP Director General SS DeswalShah said that four National Disaster Response Force NDRF teams are being airlifted to Dehradun to reach JoshimathThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever