Chamoli (Uttarakhand), Feb 28: A massive avalanche struck Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on Friday left at least 42 workers engaged in road construction near Mana village, close to the India-Tibet border, trapped under the snow, and a multi-agency operation has been launched to rescue them, officials said.

According to reports, 57 workers were present at the site when the avalanche occurred. While 15 have been rescued and rushed to an army camp in critical condition, efforts are underway to locate the remaining trapped workers.

Rescue operations are being carried out by multiple agencies, including the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and the Army.

An Army statement said, the avalanche struck around 7.15 a.m. near a BRO camp, approximately 3 km ahead of Badrinath Dham, where workers were clearing snow for army movement. The Army’s swift response teams, including over 100 personnel from the Ibex Brigade, doctors, ambulances, and heavy equipment, were immediately mobilized.

An army official stated that ongoing snowfall and intermittent smaller avalanches are slowing rescue efforts, which are being conducted with extreme caution. The General Reserve Engineer Force (GERF) is also working to clear the road between Joshimath and Mana, while additional medical resources from Joshimath are being mobilised.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on X: “Spoke to Chief Minister @pushkardhami ji, DG ITBP, and DG NDRF regarding the Chamoli avalanche. Our priority is to safely evacuate those trapped. The local administration is engaged in full-scale rescue efforts. Two NDRF teams are also en route.”

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed deep concern over the tragedy, stating: “Sad news has been received about workers being buried under an avalanche during BRO’s construction work near Mana. Rescue operations by ITBP, BRO, and other teams are in full swing. I pray to Lord Badri Vishal for everyone’s safety.”

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also posted: “An unfortunate avalanche has struck the Mana area in Joshimath, affecting the BRO’s GREF camp. I have spoken to CM @pushkardhami. The administration is providing all possible assistance, and the Army is leading rescue efforts with all available resources.”

District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari has directed officials to expedite the rescue mission. He confirmed that 57 workers were engaged in clearing snow for army movement when the avalanche struck. So far, no fatalities have been reported.

A team of the SDRF has been dispatched from Joshimath, while a high-altitude rescue team remains on standby at Sahastradhara helipad, awaiting improved weather for aerial deployment. The Army has also been contacted to clear blocked routes in Lambagad.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for Uttarakhand and other hilly regions, warning of extremely heavy snowfall – up to 20 cm – until late Friday night.

Rescue teams continue to battle challenging conditions as efforts intensify to locate and save the trapped workers.

Mumbai: A gas pipeline burst during road excavation in Mia Mohd Chhotani Road on Thursday, causing a fire on the road.

Fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The excavation was being carried out for road repairs.

This is the second incident of a gas pipeline fire in a few days. Previously, a similar incident was reported from Bandra.

Hyderabad, Feb 27: Rescue teams intensified operation to rescue eight persons trapped in the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Telangana’s Nagarkurnool district on Thursday, the sixth day after the partial collapse of the under-construction tunnel.

Teams of the Army, the Navy, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and rat hole miners were removing silt and debris from the tunnel with the target of completing the rescue operation in two days.

The rescue workers were using gas plasma cutters to detach damaged parts of the tail portion of the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) to clear the access to the last end of the tunnel where the eight men were trapped.

Officials said that their priority is now to clear the access by removing debris and silt. The rescue workers were also engaged in the efforts to ensure that the loco train reached up to the last point and the conveyor belt became operational.

Experts of the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) were also assessing the situation inside the tunnel. They will study if continued removal of silt may result in further collapse.

The rescue agencies intensified the operation after a high-level meeting attended by military tunnel experts and state ministers N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy decided to move ahead with a concrete action plan.

The review meeting decided to go for full-fledged dewatering and desilting.

Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said the government was leaving no stone unturned to rescue the trapped workers. He said the rescuers were working round-the-clock.

He hopes that a breakthrough in reaching the trapped men could happen “very soon”.

“With the intensified rescue efforts, deployment of elite forces, and new high-tech interventions, a breakthrough in reaching the trapped workers could happen very soon,” said Uttam Kumar Reddy.

He expressed the hope that the rescue would be completed within two days and that new strategies were being implemented to mitigate challenges inside the tunnel.

The minister said as part of the intensified rescue operations, the government has also introduced reinforced support structures to stabilise the pathway leading to the TBM ensuring that rescuers can navigate safely through the tunnel.

“Officials have been instructed to accelerate debris removal and reinforce weakened tunnel sections to prevent any secondary collapses,” said Uttam Kumar Reddy.

The government is also taking the help of experts in the construction of tunnels in border areas and those who participated in rescue operations after similar tunnel accidents in other parts of the country.

Rescue teams had not been able to advance further for the last two days due to 7-9 metre high silt in the last 40-metre stretch.

The accident occurred 14 km inside the tunnel. While the rescue teams had already reached 13.5 km, they could not advance further for the last two days due to mud, the debris of TBM, and seepage of water.