Chamoli, February 15: The death toll in the Uttarakhand glacier burst rose to 54 on Monday after three more bodies recovered from the Tapovan tunnel. Till now, 15 bodies have been recovered from two work sites – Raini village and Tapovan tunnel, where the hydro projects were being constructed.

Notably, seven bodies were recovered from Raini, while eight bodies were recovered from the Tapovan tunnel. Around 179 people are still missing after the flash floods in the state. Missing complaints were registered at Joshimath Police Station. Relief and rescue operations are still underway. Uttarakhand Glacier Burst: Avalanche Damages a Part of Under-Construction Hydro Power Plant in Tapovan, Says NTPC.

Aditya Pratap Singh, Deputy Commandant, NDRF, said, “A total of 8 bodies have been recovered from here (Tapovan tunnel) so far. Operation is still underway. We are working 24/7. Seven bodies have been recovered in Raini, so a total of 15 bodies have been recovered from the two work sites.” On Sunday, 13 bodies were recovered. The flash flood damaged a part of its hydropower project in Tapovan. Uttarakhand Glacier Burst: Here Are Facts About Nanda Devi Glacier in Chamoli District.

Aditya Pratap Singh's Statement:

Teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) are jointly carrying the rescue operations. After days of digging and excavation works, rescue teams had managed to open up a sizeable portion of the tunnel. However, the presence of heavy silt and sludge inside the tunnel slowed down the excavation and digging work, top government officials said.

A cofferdam was also constructed at Tapovan to prevent any more water from flushing into the tunnel. Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand government on Friday sounded an alert after satellite images detected the formation of a large lake in the catchment area of the turbulent Rishiganga river which had caused a deluge on February 7 in Joshimath area of the district.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 15, 2021 11:59 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).