Gopeshwar : Police on Saturday arrested three people in connection with the death of 16 people due to electrocution at a sewage treatment plant in Chamoli district in Uttrakhand. Chamoli Superintendent of Police Pramendra Dobal told a press conference that Hardevlal Arya, assistant engineer in-charge of Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan, Mahendra Singh, lineman of the electricity […]
A team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is also on standby to assist the district administration in the demolition work, as and when required.
An avalanche on February 7 had caused large-scale damage to the project besides totally demolishing the Rishiganga hydel project at Raini village in Chamoli district.
"Out of 206 people missing in a flash flood, bodies of 71 people and 30 body parts have been recovered from Tapovan in Chamoli district," the state government said.
Search operation at the project site has been underway on a war footing basis for a fortnight since it bore the brunt of an avalanche triggered by a glacier burst over Rishi Ganga.
Nine bodies have so far been recovered from the tunnel at Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project site taking the toll in the tragedy to 54, while officials say 150 people are still missing.
Till Wednesday, about 120 metres of slush from the mouth of the tunnel was cleared and those trapped inside were stated to be located somewhere at the depth of 180 metres.
A joint team of ITBP, NDRF, SDRF and other agencies conducting rescue operations used drone cameras to see feasibility to enter beyond cleared site inside Tapovan tunnel.
Rescue teams comprising the Army, ITBP, NDRF and SDRF personnel have made little headway beyond 100 metres inside the tunnel as debris has been constantly flowing in.
With the hours ticking by inexorably, fears escalated about those missing since the disaster struck on Sunday morning, according to officials who stepped up efforts to locate survivors.