Rescuers are working hard to find three missing people inside a tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli where a sudden ingress of water last evening led to a crisis situation. The efforts to find them face a huge challenge due to continuous rainfall in the area, officials said, adding the water level inside the tunnel has been rising too.
In a video of the incident, a massive volume of water mixed with mud rushed downstream and slammed into the metal bridge. Within seconds, the sheer force of the water uprooted the bridge and pushed it towards the riverbank. Garhwal Range Inspector General of Police Rajiv Swaroop confirmed that they are facing difficulties in the rescue operation due to continuous rain, but are confident that the operation will be successful.
“At the time of the incident which occurred yesterday, 22 people were working here. At about 1.8 km inside the tunnel, water and debris came rushing in and trapped them.
Six people were sent to rescue them and they came back safely after some time,” Kumar told news agency ANI.
Three are still missing, and dewatering is being done for them. One is critical and he has been referred to Higher Centre Srinagar. “Of the 22 people stranded, a total of 19 were rescued yesterday. Of all the 19 rescued yesterday, seven died in the hospital and 12 sustained minor injuries. The remaining 11 are being treated in the district hospital,” he said.
