Eight reported dead in avalanche in Uttarakhand's Chamoli District
An avalanche occurred in an area close to the Niti Valley near the Indo-China border in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Friday. At least eight people have reportedly lost their lives while 384 Border Roads Organization (BRO) workers have been rescued. "Information was received about a part of a glacier collapsing beyond Sumna Chawki in the Niti valley," BRO officials said.
Laborers were constructing a road in the area
Bad weather conditions hampered rescue operations last night and rescue operations started again this morning. A BRO official confirmed the sliding down of a glacier where laborers were engaged in road construction work. In a statement, the Army said, "At around 4 pm on April 23, an avalanche hit a location about 4 km ahead of Sumna on Sumna- Rimkhim road in Uttarakhand."
There are no inhabitants in the Sumna area: Official
District Disaster Management Officer NK Joshi said that there are no inhabitants in the Sumna area, but only camps of ITBP AND BRO are working there. Sumna is around 40 km away from Raini Village, in the Tapovan area of Joshimath of Chamoli.
Earlier, CM Rawat had ordered to stop work at night
Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat tweeted about the incident, saying an alert has been issued and he is in constant touch with the BRO and the district administration for updates. Rawat also ordered to stop work at night so that no untoward incident occurs, Live Mint reported. He has also instructed the district administration to get complete information about the incident.
Home Minister Amit Shah has assured all help
In another tweet, Rawat said Union Home Minister Amit Shah has taken immediate cognizance of the incident and assured the state of all help. Rawat said that Shah has also instructed ITBP to be vigilant, according to Live Mint.
The government is monitoring the situation closely
Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that he is monitoring the situation closely. "I am monitoring the situation closely. CWC is on alert and a team led by a secretary-level officer has taken charge of the situation," he wrote on Twitter. "Unfortunate that a disaster has struck Raini Village of Uttarakhand owing to a glacier burst on Dhauliganga river," he said.
80 people died in an avalanche in Chamoli in February
Notably, in February this year, at least 80 people died and 170 went missing after a glacier broke off triggering a flood in the Dhauliganga river of Chamoli District. The floods caused massive destruction of some key projects including the famous Rishiganga Hydropower project.
