- Title: Himalayan glacier breaks in India, around 125 missing in floods
- Date: 7th February 2021
- Summary: CHAMOLI, UTTARAKHAND, INDIA (FEBRUARY 07, 2021) (ANI - NO USE INDIA) VARIOUS OF OFFICIALS, POLICE, AND EXCAVATORS NEAR DISASTER SITE
- Embargoed: 21st February 2021 14:26
- Keywords: Chamoli Himalaya India Narendra Modi Trivendra Singh Rawat Uttarakhand accident avalanche dam disaster glacier global warming
- Location: CHAMOLI, DEHRADUN, UTTARAKHAND, INDIA
- City: CHAMOLI, DEHRADUN, UTTARAKHAND, INDIA
- Country: India
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Disaster/Accidents
- Reuters ID: LVA004DYN8E33
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:EDITORS: PLEASE NOTE: PART QUALITY AS INCOMING
EDITORS: PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL
Around 125 people were missing in northern India after a Himalayan glacier broke and swept away a small hydroelectric dam on Sunday (February 07), with floods forcing the evacuation of villages downstream.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said 125 people were missing but the number could rise. Rescue operations were underway and the bodies of seven people had been recovered.
In a miraculous find, India's paramilitary, Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel pulled out a man stuck in a trench in the flood-ravaged area in Chamoli district.
The disaster took place around 500 km (310 miles) north of New Delhi.
Uttarakhand is prone to flash floods and landslides and the disaster prompted calls by environment groups for a review of power projects in the ecologically sensitive mountains.
Earlier state chief secretary Om Prakash said 100 to 150 people were feared dead. A large number of the missing were workers at the 13.2 MW Rishiganga Hydroelectric Project which was destroyed by the bursting of the glacier.
Footage shared by locals showed the water washing away parts of the Rishiganga dam and everything else in its path. At least 180 sheep were washed away.
Videos on social media, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed water surging through a small dam site, washing away construction equipment.
Twelve people who had been trapped in a tunnel had been rescued and efforts were underway to save others caught in another tunnel, the federal home ministry said after a meeting of the National Crisis Committee, comprising top officials. - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None