200 Missing In India After Burst Glacier Causes Flash Flooding

Rishikesh, India, Feb 7 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Feb, 2021 ) :At least 200 people are missing in northern India after a piece of Himalayan glacier fell into a river, causing a torrent that tore through two power plants and swept away roads and bridges, police said on Sunday.

Three bodies have been found and a desperate operation has been launched to rescue about 20 people trapped in a tunnel, the Uttarakhand state police chief said.

The massive surge of water swept through the Dhauliganga river valley, destroying everything in its path, videos taken by terrified residents showed.

"There was a cloud of dust as the water went by. The ground shook like an earthquake," local inhabitant Om Agarwal told Indian tv.

Most of the missing were workers at two power plants that were battered by the deluge, caused by a huge chunk of glacier that slipped off a mountainside further upstream, said the police chief Ashok Kumar.

"There were 50 workers at Rishi Ganga plant and we have no information about them. Some 150 workers were at Tapovan," he added.

"About 20 are trapped inside a tunnel. We are trying to reach the trapped workers."With the main road washed away, the tunnel was filled with mud and rocks, and paramilitary rescuers had to climb down a hillside on ropes to reach the entrance.

Hundreds of troops and paramilitaries along with military helicopters and other aircraft have been sent to the region.