Police in the district said that following heavy snowfall in the area, routes and communication have been disrupted.
New Delhi:A massive avalanche struck near Mana village in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand on Friday, trapping 57 Border Roads Organisation (BRO) workers. Rescue teams managed to save 32 people by evening, while 25 remain unaccounted for as worsening weather forced a temporary halt to operations.
Officials said the avalanche buried a BRO camp between Mana and Badrinath around 7.15 am, following two days of heavy rain and snowfall. The rescued workers, some of whom sustained injuries, were taken to the nearby ITBP camp for treatment. Helicopter rescue efforts have been hampered by poor visibility and bad weather.
Union home minister Amit Shah spoke with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to assess the situation, stressing that evacuating the trapped workers remains the top priority. Defence minister Rajnath Singh also confirmed that all available resources are being deployed, including the Army’s Ibex Brigade of more than 100 personnel trained in high-altitude rescue.
Multiple agencies — NDRF, SDRF, ITBP, and BRO — are working in tandem to clear snow and locate survivors. Four NDRF teams have been rushed to the area, while additional forces remain on standby. Officials said rescue operations will resume at first light once weather conditions improve. Mana village, located about 3 km from Badrinath at an altitude of 3,200 metres, is the last inhabited area on the India-Tibet border.
According to Disaster Management and Rehabilitation secretary Vinod Kumar Suman, the situation is critical with the containers buried under six to seven feet of snow. The bad weather continues.Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and SDRF left for the spot, about 300 km from the state capital Dehradun, amid continuing snowfall and rain.
"Today a group of road construction workers of BRO were trapped in an avalanche near the village Mana. While SDRF, BRO, NDRF and ITBP teams are making efforts to rescue them, low visibility due to bad weather has made the rescue operation challanging. Helicopter service became difficult due to bad weather. Government is constantly seeking advisory from weather department. It's likely to be clear tomorrow morning. Helicopter services will immediately take off after that. Army, air force and other experts are being consulted for early rescue of the workers" said Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
Sharing more details, the SDRF’s IG Ridhim Agarwal informed that a team was sent from its Joshimath station but thick snow on the road was causing difficulty in reaching out to the accident site. This happened due to blockade of Badrinath Road at Lambagad for continuous snowfall and rain. She also said efforts were being made to contact the Indian Army station at Joshimath to remove snow from the road.
According to IG SDRF, an option for air dropping rescue teams was also being explored. She claimed that as soon as weather improves, the high-altitude rescue team of SDRF will be air dropped near the avalanche site through helicopter.
