Dehradun, February 11: The death toll in the Uttarakhand glacier burst incident mounted to 35 on Thursday while as many as 204 persons are still feared missing, the Uttarakhand government informed. The rescue operations on Thursday entered the fifth day today in the aftermath of the flash floods at Raini village in Tapovan area of Chamoli district in the hill state. Of the 35 bodies that have been recovered from the site, 10 have been identified so far, officials said. Uttarakhand Glacier Burst: Here Are Facts About Nanda Devi Glacier in Chamoli District.

Ashok Kumar, DGP Uttarakhand said that rescue operations have been  temporarily halted in Chamoli district due to a rise in the level of water in Rishiganga river. The official said that orders have been given to vacate the areas downstream. "The water level in the river is rising, people living in nearby areas are being alerted. People are requested to remain alert and not panic", the Chamoli Police said.

Uttarakhand Glacier Burst: What we Know So Far

  1. Death toll in the Uttarakhand glacier burst incident rose to 35 while as many as 204 persons are still feared missing

  2. Rescue operation at a tunnel in Uttarakhand's Tapovan in Chamoli district temporarily halted due to a rise in the level of water in Rishiganga river. Orders have been given to vacate the areas downstream.

  3. The JCB machines, equipment and rescue teams exit the tunnel in Joshimath, Chamoli district where rescue operation is underway, as the operation has been temporarily halted.

  4. Chamoli Police said water level in the river is rising and people living in nearby areas are being alerted. People in the region are requested to remain alert and not panic.

  5. The ITBP said that rescue operations in the tunnel temporarily halted as a precaution for the time being due to a low rise in water level in River Dhauli Ganga. Nothing alarming as seen in the river flow as of now.

  6. Kalachand Sain, Director, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology said that in the flash flood incident, scientists have observed a rockfall from a height of 5,600 meters. Since that support from the bottom had fallen, glacier fell down. The area has very steep slope into the mountain region.

  7. "In that 30-40 degree gradient, a huge chunk of rock mass & overlying glacier ice mass had fallen & rolled down. When it came along the slope, there was some vegetation, soil that was scraped with it", Sain said, adding that their scientists have collected the samples.

  8. As many as 100 State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), 176 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 425 Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel, 124 Army personnel and 16 fire officials have been deployed in the flood-affected areas.

  9. Reports inform that at least 360 families from 13 villages in the border area were affected following the disruption in road links due to the catastrophe.

  10. Except for Pang and Murada, which were the worst affected villages in Uttarakhand, power has been restored in all the remaining 11 villages. Meanwhile, drinking water lines have been repaired in 10 villages and work is underway in the remaining others.

The rescuers had been working on multi-pronged strategies in their desperate bid to open the tunnel which was blocked by the Sunday morning deluge.  Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat is constantly monitoring the relief and rescue operations. Rawat said efforts are on to establish the identity of the bodies through collected DNA samples.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 11, 2021 03:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).