Tapovan, India – Indian rescue workers fought on Tuesday to dig tons of rock and mud to reach survivors in a drowned Himalayan tunnel after a devastating flash. flood probably triggered by a glacial eruption. More than 170 people were still missing two days after a wall of water and debris rushed down a valley in the northern state of Uttarakhand, destroying bridges and roads, hitting two hydropower plants and killing 32 of them.
The disaster has been attributed to the rapid melting of glaciers in the Himalayan region, exacerbated by global warming. Indian researchers have said that although it initially appeared, the collapse of a glacial lake caused the sudden flood, it was probably a landslide and an avalanche that fell on the glacier and triggered the waterfall. in the valley.
The construction of dams and the dredging of riverbeds for sand and the clearing of trees for new roads – some to strengthen defense on the Chinese border – may also have played an important role in destabilizing the riverbed. zone.
AP
Most of the missing were employees of two of the many hydroelectric power plants being built around Uttarakhand, a mountainous and ecologically fragile state, slightly smaller than Switzerland.
Hundreds of rescue workers participated in the operation across the state, using helicopters equipped with high-definition cameras that penetrate the surface, as well as sniffing dogs.
On Tuesday, an attempt was made to locate and extract 34 workers that lifeguards expected to be alive in air pockets in a system of tunnels full of icy water and debris. The workers struggled throughout the day, and as darkness fell, the operation continued.
STRINGER / REUTERS
“We are trying to clean the slab inside the tunnel, but it has been difficult,” rescue chief PK Tiwari said. “We are trying to use drones and other tools to have a clearer picture of the situation inside.”
In the vicinity, workers used heavy machinery to remove giant pebbles from the road that blocked the passage to the second power plant where 35 people were missing.
The plant was destroyed and is now a wasteland covered with viscous gray mud. In a nearby village, four bodies were recovered, including that of a police officer.
Survivor stories
One who distinguished him was 28-year-old Rajesh Kumar, who along with others clung to the scaffolding of the tunnel for four hours before the water level dropped and they could escape.
“Suddenly a whistle blew … there were screams, people were telling us to get out. We thought it was a fire. We started running but the water gushed out. It was like a Hollywood movie.” , Kumar told AFP. .
“We kept telling each other: no matter what happens, we shouldn’t let go of the wands,” he said from the hospital bed.
Shopkeeper Ramesh Negi was enjoying the sun on Sunday morning when he heard a loud roar and saw a huge wall of water burst in and sweep a bridge.
Dozens of workers in the river bed and shepherds leading the cattle down the mountain slopes disappeared under the sudden flood, he recalled.
“There was dust and screams everywhere,” the 36-year-old told AFP.
Indo-Tibetan Border Police / AP
Mangra, another survivor, remembered hearing a loud sound and murmur and the cries of other comrades, “Run, run, run!”
The 28-year-old came out of the tunnel but six friends and neighbors from his village did not make it.
“It looked like the mountain was crashing and the Earth was moving,” Mangra told AFP outside the tunnel, with cuts and scratches on his hands and legs.