Strong winds and blocked roads hinder rescue mission for 42 workers caught in Uttarakhand avalanche.
More than 40 construction workers are trapped under the snow due to an avalanche near India’s border with Tibet.
Blizzard-like conditions caused the avalanche on Friday at a camp near the mountain village of Mana in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.
It initially trapped 57 workers who were clearing out snow from the camp. Fifteen of them were rescued while 42 are still missing, said Ridhim Agarwal, an official from the state’s disaster relief force.
Disaster response teams are trying to reach the trapped workers at the high-altitude camp, which had been under an avalanche warning since Thursday evening, according to Indian media reports.
However, the treacherous weather is hampering their efforts, said Deepam Seth, the state’s top police officer.
“It has been snowing with strong winds. … The roads are completely blocked. We have deployed snow cutters to open the road,” he told Indian broadcaster NDTV.
“Additional troops and equipment are being staged forward to the location,” the Indian army’s Central Command announced.
An avalanche struck a GREF Camp near Mana village in Garhwal Sector. A number of labourers are feared to be trapped. Indian Army’s IBEX BRIGADE swiftly launched rescue operations inspite of continuing heavy snowfall and minor avalanches. So far 10… pic.twitter.com/adVcAu9g4g
— SuryaCommand_IA (@suryacommand) February 28, 2025
Avalanches and landslides are common in the upper reaches of the Himalayas.
Scientists have shown that climate change is making weather more severe, supercharged by warmer oceans.
The increased pace of development in fragile Himalayan regions has also heightened fears about the fallout from deforestation and construction.
In 2021, nearly 100 people died in Uttarakhand when a huge chunk of a glacier fell into a river, triggering flash floods.
Devastating monsoon floods and landslides in 2013 killed 6,000 people and led to calls for a review of development projects in the state.
Friday’s avalanche occurred as a parallel rescue effort continued for a seventh day in the southern Indian town of Nagarkurnool, where several workers are trapped in a partially collapsed tunnel.