On Monday, Indian rescuers from Lukno continued their search in the Indian Himalayas. A glacier avalanche killed at least 18 people and more than 200 people were missing. Some of them were trapped in a tunnel. After part of the glacier broke, the water, rocks, The dust came out.
A glacier under Nanda Devi, India's second highest peak, collapsed two small hydroelectric power stations below on Sunday and destroyed another large dam being constructed by the state-owned company NTPC.
Indian officials said that eighteen bodies have been recovered from the mountainside. Most of the missing persons are those engaged in these two projects. As part of the development drive, the government has been building in the deep mountains of Uttarakhand.
State Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said: “As of now, about 203 people are missing.” With more information about people in remote areas being flooded, this number is increasing Changes.
Videos on social media showed that water flowed through a small dam site, washed away construction equipment and collapsed a small bridge. "Everything was driven away by people, cattle and trees."
It is not yet clear what caused the glacier to burst on a bright Sunday morning. Experts say that there was heavy snow in the Nanda Devi area last week, and it is possible that some of the snow may begin to melt and may cause avalanches.
The focus of the rescue team’s work is to drill the road on a 2.5-kilometer (1.5-mile) tunnel at the site of the Taperwin Vishnugard Hydropower Project. NTPC is constructing 5 kilometers (3 miles) downstream, It is believed that about 30 workers were trapped.
National Police Chief Ashok Kumar said: "We tried to break the tunnel. This is a tunnel about 2.5 kilometers long." He said that rescuers had entered the tunnel 150 meters (yards), but debris and mud hindered it. Progress.
Another official said that he has not yet made voice contact with anyone in the tunnel. Heavy equipment has been used, and a dog team flew to the location to find survivors. On Sunday, 12 people were rescued from another much smaller tunnel.
Uttarakhand is prone to flash floods and landslides,The disaster triggered calls from environmental organizations to review power projects in ecologically sensitive mountainous areas. In June 2013, record monsoon rains there caused devastating floods and claimed the lives of nearly 6,000 people.
On Monday, a group of scientists flew over the most recent accident site by plane to understand the exact situation.
Assistant Professor of Glaciology and Hydrology, Indian Institute of Technology, Indore. "A glacier rupture is a very rare event. Satellite and Google Earth images do not show glacial lakes near the area, but there may be puddles in the area."
This incident. Environmental organizations blamed the construction activities in the mountains.
The coordinator of the South Asia Dam, Rivers and People's Network said that the government has made a clear proposal against the use of explosives for construction purposes. "There are violations."
The recent accident has also raised questions about the safety of the dam. "The dam should withstand more force. This is not a monsoon flood, it is much smaller."
