India
oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P
Tapovan, February 17: Two more bodies were recovered early Tuesday in the Tapovan Tunnel, where efforts were underway for the 10th day in a row to reach workers who were feared trapped inside after a flash flood in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.
The confirmed death toll in the Chamoli disaster has risen to 58 and another 148 people are missing, an official said. Eleven of the bodies were recovered from the tunnel at the National Thermal Power Corporation’s Tapovan-Vishnugad project site, where it was initially feared that some 30 people were trapped.
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Meanwhile, Chamoli Medical Director GS Rana released a video statement, saying that all those killed in the glacial disaster suffered bodily injuries and mud and water entered their lungs.
“Autopsies have been performed on the 58 bodies recovered as of February 16 and I have seen the reports. They all died from injuries sustained to their bodies and from mud and water that entered their lungs,” he said.
The multi-agency rescue effort in the Chamoli district focuses on the Tapovan tunnel. The commander of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), PK Tiwari, said search and rescue operations will continue until the last victim is reached.
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But he also indicated that cleaning up the mud and debris from the entire tunnel could take months. When asked about the chances of survival of the missing or trapped, the NDRF commander said he can’t say anything for sure, but miracles do happen.
Rescue work at the site progressed slower Tuesday than on other days with water seeping from debris in the part of the tunnel that has yet to be cleared. Agencies involved in the Tapovan rescue work include the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force.
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