Mana, located 3 km from Badrinath, is the last village on the India-Tibet border, situated at an altitude of 3,200 meters.
Rescue teams have recovered 14 more workers from the snow-covered Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp in Uttarakhand’s Mana village, officials said on Saturday. However, eight workers are still trapped. A total of 55 workers were caught in the avalanche that struck the high-altitude camp between Mana and Badrinath early Friday morning. With the latest rescue, 47 people have been saved so far—33 by Friday night and 14 more on Saturday.
Heavy snowfall and rain had slowed down the operation on Friday, forcing rescuers to halt efforts overnight. But as the weather improved on Saturday, helicopters were deployed to assist in the rescue.
District Disaster Management Officer N K Joshi confirmed that Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) teams based in Mana resumed the search early in the morning. Despite challenging conditions, efforts are underway to locate and rescue the remaining eight workers who have now been trapped for over 24 hours.
Chamoli District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari stated that three critically injured workers, who were initially receiving treatment at the ITBP hospital in Mana, were airlifted to Jyotirmath Army Hospital for advanced medical care.
Authorities are hopeful that the improved weather will help speed up the rescue mission. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is also expected to visit the site soon.
According to a list from the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority, the trapped workers belong to different states, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Jammu & Kashmir. The list includes 10 names, though their respective states were not mentioned.
Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said that over 65 personnel are actively involved in the operation.
Mana, located 3 km from Badrinath, is the last village on the India-Tibet border, situated at an altitude of 3,200 meters.
‘PMO assured all possible help,’ says CM Dhami
Speaking to reporters in Dehradun, CM Dhami said, “We are trying to rescue the (BRO) workers as soon as possible. I had a telephonic conversation with PM Modi, and he has assured all the possible help… The PMO is in constant touch with us. 14 more people have been rescued, and all are doing well, the rest will be rescued soon.”
