At least four people died from their wounds in India after an avalanche hit a remote border area, authorities said Saturday, since rescuers deployed helicopters to look for the remaining five missing.
A total of 55 workers were buried under snow and debris after the avalanche arrived at a construction camp on Friday near the village of Mana on the border with the Tibet in the state of the Himalayas of the north of Uttarakhand.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Indian army said that 50 people were initially rescued, but among them, four succumbed to their wounds.
“Unfortunately, four injured people have been confirmed as fatal victims,” they said.
There were still five workers, the army said, he added that six helicopters had been deployed in rescue efforts while the “roads are blocked.”
Uttarakhand state prime minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, said rescue teams were “continuously involved in help efforts.”
“The government is totally committed to providing all possible assistance to those affected in this time of crisis,” he said in an X publication.
Mana Village, who shares a border with the Tibet, was desert after the residents moved to the lowest altitudes to escape the extreme climate, The Indian Express reported newspaper.
Avalanches and landslides are common in the upper sections of the Himalayas, especially during the winter season.
Scientists have said that climate change was making climatic events more severe, while the greatest rate of development in the fragile regions of Himalaya has also increased fears of the consequences of deforestation and construction.
In 2021, almost 100 people died in Uttarakhand after a huge piece of glacier fell into a river, causing sudden floods.
And devastating floods of Monzón and landslides in 2013 killed 6,000 people and led the calls to a review of development projects in the state.
