At least 140 people are missing and nine died in India after a portion of the glacier broke in the Himalayas on Sunday and sent powerful flooding to nearby hydroelectric plants.
Part of the Nanda Devi Glacier crashed Sunday morning and distributed a flood of trapped water to other bodies of water in the northern state of Uttarakhand. The Associated Press reported.
Rescue crews, including more than 2,000 military, paramilitaries and police, were deployed to try to save those trapped by the disaster that experts attributed to climate change and warming temperatures.
Vivek Pandey, a spokesman for the Indo-Tibetan border police paramilitary, said the increase in water and debris ended the Alaknanda River hydroelectric plant and damaged a plant that was being built on the Dhauliganga River, according to the AP.
He said at least 42 workers were trapped in the tunnels at the Dhauliganga plant, with 12 of them rescued.
“Lifeguards used ropes and shovels to reach the mouth of the tunnel. They dug through the wreckage and entered the tunnel. They have yet to get in touch with the stranded people, ”according to the AP, the chief minister, Trivendra Singh Rawat, Uttarakhand’s first elected official.
The flood caused the evacuation of several villages from both rivers and Ravi Bejaria, a government spokesman, said it had damaged the houses without disclosing information on whether the residents were injured, missing or dead.
Earlier Sunday, Chief Secretary Om Prakash said he feared 100 to 150 people were killed, Reuters reported..
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter that he “constantly monitors the unfortunate situation.”
“India is with Uttarakhand and the nation is praying for the safety of everyone there,” he posted.
I am constantly monitoring the unfortunate situation in Uttarakhand. India stays with Uttarakhand and the nation prays for the safety of all there. We have been continuously talking to senior authorities and receiving updates on NDRF deployment, rescue tasks, and relief operations.
– Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 7, 2021
The state has often been hit by flash floods and landslides, including a June 2013 monsoon that killed thousands of people. Experts have warned about plants and projects in the area due to environmental risks.