10 dead, 125 missing after glacier slams into India dam
Many of the missing are dam workers; floods force evacuation of villages downstream
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NEW DELHI • Around 125 people are missing in northern India after a Himalayan glacier broke and swept away a small hydroelectric dam yesterday, with floods forcing the evacuation of villages downstream.
A witness reported a wall of dust, rock and water as an avalanche roared down the Dhauli Ganga river valley located in the state of Uttarakhand, more than 500km north of New Delhi.
"It came very fast; there was no time to alert anyone," Mr Sanjay Singh Rana, who lives on the upper reaches of the river in Raini village, said by phone. "I felt that even we would be swept away."
Earlier, the state's Chief Secretary Om Prakash said 100 to 150 people were feared dead. A large number of the missing were workers at the 13.2MW Rishiganga Hydroelectric Project, which was destroyed by the glacier.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat told reporters at a press conference in Dehradun, the state capital, that the number of missing could rise. The bodies of 10 people have been recovered so far.
Twelve people trapped in a tunnel have been rescued and efforts were under way to save others caught in another tunnel, the federal Home Ministry said after a meeting of the National Crisis Committee, comprising top officials.
With the main road washed away, the tunnel was filled with mud and rocks and paramilitary rescuers had to climb down a hillside using ropes to get access to the entrance.
Scores of social media users captured the disaster, with footage showing the massive burst of water tearing through a narrow valley below the power plant, leaving roads and bridges destroyed in its wake. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was monitoring the relief operation. "India stands with Uttarakhand and the nation prays for everyone's safety there," Mr Modi said on Twitter.
India's air force was being readied to help with rescue operations, while disaster response teams were airlifted in to help with relief and rescue. Army soldiers have been deployed and helicopters were doing reconnaissance. Navy divers have also been flown in.
Most of the villages that were evacuated are situated on hillsides overlooking the river, which is a tributary of the Ganges.
Two other dams on the river were also emptied in a bid to stop the flood waters reaching the towns of Rishikesh and Haridwar, where people have been barred from going near the banks of the sacred river, officials said.
State utility NTPC said the avalanche had damaged a part of its Tapovan Vishnugad hydropower plant that was under construction farther down the river. It gave no details, but said the situation is being monitored.
The neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous, put its riverside areas on high alert.
It was not immediately clear what had caused the glacier to break at a time when it is not the flood season. In June 2013, record monsoon rains in Uttarakhand caused devastating floods that claimed close to 6,000 lives. That disaster was dubbed the "Himalayan tsunami" because of the torrents of water unleashed in the area, which sent mud and rocks crashing down to bury homes, and swept away buildings, roads and bridges.
Environmental experts called for a halt to big hydroelectric projects in the state. "This disaster again calls for a serious scrutiny of the hydropower dam building spree in this eco-sensitive region," said Mr Ranjan Panda, a volunteer for the Combat Climate Change Network that works on water, environment and climate change issues.
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, BLOOMBERG, XINHUA
At least 125 missing after glacier crashes into dam in India
People walking past a destroyed hydroelectric dam, the Rishiganga Hydroelectric Project, in India's Uttarakhand state after a broken Himalayan glacier crashed into it yesterday. Villages downstream were evacuated after the shattered glacier caused roaring floods down the Dhauli Ganga river valley. More than 50 people working at the dam were among those feared dead, though some have been rescued. Agence France-Presse reported that two power plants were buried by the deluge, while at least 125 people are missing. Although 10 bodies have been found, a desperate operation has been launched to rescue about 17 people trapped in a tunnel. Hundreds of troops and paramilitary personnel, along with military helicopters and other aircraft, have been sent to the region.
