In a dramatic rescue operation, 14 more labourers were pulled out from the snow-covered wreckage of a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp in Mana village, Uttarakhand, after a massive avalanche struck the high-altitude region on Friday. With this, 47 of the 55 trapped workers have been saved, while eight remain buried under the snow for over 24 hours.
Rescue teams from the Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) resumed operations early Saturday, battling extreme weather and treacherous terrain. Chamoli District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari confirmed that three critically injured labourers rescued on Friday were airlifted to Jyotirmath Army Hospital for advanced treatment.
"We hope the clear weather will accelerate rescue efforts," said Tiwari, as officials race against time to locate the remaining missing workers. The trapped labourers belong to various states, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Jammu & Kashmir.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is expected to visit the avalanche-hit site, while over 65 personnel continue to dig through the thick snow in search of survivors. The calamity struck just three kilometers from the sacred Badrinath shrine, in Mana—the last Indian village before the Tibet border, perched at 3,200 meters above sea level.
