LUCKNOW, India (AP) – Indian authorities launched a search operation Sunday after part of the mountain glacier broke, sending a massive flood of water and debris that attacked two dams and damaged several houses . At least three people died and 140 disappeared.
The flooding occurred when a portion of the Nanda Devi Glacier broke in the Tapovan area of Uttarakhand state in the north on Sunday morning. A video shared by officials and taken from the side of the steep slope of the hill shows a wall of water sinking into one of the dams and breaking it into pieces with little resistance before continuing to roar downstream.
The Rishiganga hydroelectric plant was destroyed, while the Dhauliganga hydroelectric plant was damaged, said Vivek Pandey, a spokesman for the Indo-Tibetan border paramilitary police.
Pandey said three bodies were recovered near a tunnel in the Dhauliganga project, where at least 16 workers were trapped. Another 140 workers at the two plants are missing, he said.
Ravi Bejaria, a government spokesman, said some houses were also damaged by the flood.
Officials said that when the glacier broke, it sent trapped water behind it, as well as mud and other debris gushing down the mountain and into other bodies of water. A warning was issued urging people living on the banks of the Alaknanda River to move immediately to safer places.
Several rescue teams were rushed to the affected area, officials said.
The Himalayan area has a chain of energy projects on the Alknanda River and its tributaries.
In 2013, thousands of people died in Uttarakhand after heavy rains caused landslides and floods, washing thousands of houses and roads and cutting off communication links in many parts of the state.
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This story has been corrected to show that authorities began their search operation on Sunday and not Saturday.