RISHIKESH, India – Indian authorities launched a search operation on Sunday after part of the Himalayan glacier broke, sending a massive flood of water and debris that attacked two dams and damaged several houses. At least nine people died and 140 disappeared.
The flooding occurred when a portion of the Nanda Devi Glacier broke in the Tapovan area in northern Uttarakhand state 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 on the Alaknanda River was destroyed, while the Dhauliganga hydroelectric plant on the Dhauliganga River was damaged, said Vivek Pandey, a spokesman for the Indo-Tibetan border police paramilitary. Both rivers, which flow from the Himalayan mountains, meet before merging with the Ganges River.
Pandey said the 12 workers trapped inside a tunnel of the Dhauliganga project were rescued and provided first aid. Earlier, he said there were 16 people trapped there.
Another 140 workers at the two plants are missing, Pandey said.
Surjeet Singh, a police officer, said so far nine bodies have been recovered amid intensified rescue operations.
Pandey said they had called in soldiers who were experts in mountaineering and rescue operations.
“The situation is under control and there is no need to panic,” he said.
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. Many villages were evacuated when authorities issued a warning urging people living along the Alaknanda and Dhauliganga rivers to move immediately to safer places.
There were houses that were damaged by the flood, said Ravi Bejaria, a government spokesman, although he had no details on the number and whether any of the residents were injured, missing or dead.
Authorities emptied two dams below the river to prevent floodwaters from reaching the cities of Haridwar and Rishikesh, where the most popular tourist sites on the banks of the Ganges River were closed and all activities stopped. navigation.
“We learned that a glacier had broken and people feared that water levels would rise,” said Prince Chawla, a boat owner in Rishikesh. “But by now, the water level hasn’t risen too much here.”
Uttarakhand police chief Ashok Kumar said officials immediately alerted residents living in the area and evacuated them to safer places.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a tweet, said he was “constantly monitoring the unfortunate situation”. He added: “India is on Uttarakhand’s side and the nation is praying for the safety of all there.”
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.