Twenty-six bodies have been recovered and over 171 people still missing after Nanda Devi glacier burst in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli District.
Rescue operations are going on to save over 30 people trapped in a tunnel. The missing people include those working at the hydro power project sites and villagers whose homes nearby were washed away.
Officials at the State Emergency Operation Centre reported the recovery of more bodies and feared the death toll would rise, a day after a portion of the Nanda Devi glacier possibly burst through its banks in Chamoli district.
Experts are still trying to determine the exact cause of the disaster in Joshimath.
“It was due to lakhs of metric tonnes of snow sliding down abruptly from a trigger point on top of a hill,” Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat told reporters after meeting ISRO scientists.
Two power projects NTPC’s 480 MW Tapovan-Vishnugad project and the 13.2 MW Rishiganga Hydel Project were extensively damaged.
The state government released Rs 20 crore to Chamoli district for rescue and relief operations.
