Lucknow: Two more bodies were recovered today from the Tapovan tunnel where intense rescue operations were underway for the 10th consecutive day in search of those missing in the Uttarakhand flash floods.
With the recovery of two more bodies, the cumulative toll in Chamoli’s glacial disaster has mounted to 58 while146 are still missing, a police official said.
Rescue efforts are now underway at the Silt Flushing Tunnel (SFT) only with the help of excavators as a camera or apipe cannot be inserted due to mounds of sludge and water choking it, the district magistrate Swati S Bhadauria said.
The SFT at Tapovan where drilling was completed on Saturday night in the hope of inserting a camera to locate those believed to be trapped inside is also badly choked with slush and water, she said.
Electricity supply has been restored in all affected villages except Pang where solar lanterns have been provided to residents for the time being, she said. The agencies involved in the Tapovan rescue work include the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force.