At least 25 people are missing after an avalanche struck the Indian Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, authorities say.
Blizzard-like conditions caused the avalanche on Friday near a highway in the state’s Chamoli region, adjoining Tibet.
It struck a worksite of the federal Border Roads Organisation (BRO) where eight containers and one shed with 57 workers inside were buried under the snow, the Indian army said in a statement.
Five of the containers have been located, the statement said, and the search for the remaining three was ongoing.
At least 32 workers had been rescued, Chamoli District Administrator Sandeep Tiwari told the news agency ANI on Friday evening, and there was no indication of any casualties.
Strong winds and snowfall, however, were hampering the rescue operations, Deepam Seth, the state’s top police officer, said.
“It has been snowing with strong winds. … The roads are completely blocked. We have deployed snow cutters to open the road,” he told broadcaster NDTV.
Ridhim Agarwal of the state disaster relief force said high-altitude rescue teams will be deployed by helicopter to the scene once the weather improves.
India’s weather department expected “heavy to very heavy” snowfall – defined as at least 12 centimetres (5 inches) of snow – over the state through Friday and forecast it would then subside “significantly”.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said he was “saddened” by the incident and was monitoring the rescue operations.
The high-altitude camp had been under an avalanche warning since Thursday evening, according to Indian media reports.
An avalanche struck a GREF Camp near Mana village in Garhwal Sector. A number of labourers are feared to be trapped. Indian Army’s IBEX BRIGADE swiftly launched rescue operations inspite of continuing heavy snowfall and minor avalanches. So far 10… pic.twitter.com/adVcAu9g4g
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Avalanches and landslides are common in the upper reaches of the Himalayas.
Scientists have shown that climate change is making weather more severe, supercharged by warmer oceans.
The increased pace of development in fragile Himalayan regions has also heightened fears about the fallout from deforestation and construction.
In 2021, nearly 100 people died in Uttarakhand when a huge chunk of a glacier fell into a river, triggering flash floods.
Devastating monsoon floods and landslides in 2013 killed 6,000 people and led to calls for a review of development projects in the state.
Friday’s avalanche occurred as a parallel rescue effort continued for a seventh day in the southern Indian town of Nagarkurnool, where several workers are trapped in a partially collapsed tunnel.
