U’khand glacier burst: 1 more body recovered, toll mounts to 37

TIL Desk/National/Chamoli/ The death toll in the Uttarakhand glacier burst incident reached 37 after one more body was recovered from the riverbank near Maithana village on Friday, informed Chamoli District Magistrate Swati S Bhadoria.

Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Director-General of Police Ashok Kumar said that the rescue team will resume the drilling operation in the Tapovan tunnel to gain entry into a smaller tunnel which is 12 metres below the existing tunnel as there is a possibility of human presence there.

 The operation was temporarily halted following a rise in the level of water in the Rishiganga River on Thursday. Kumar also informed that 168 people are still missing following the glacier burst. “Out of the bodies, 10 have been identified. Last rites will be performed for the unidentified bodies after preserving their DNA,” he added.

The Deputy Inspector General of State Disaster Response Force Ridhim Aggarwal said that there is a possibility that water is being accumulated above Raini village near the Tapovan area. “Many aerial recces have been done. An 8-member SDRF team sent today on foot to assess the situation. Further action to be taken after evaluation,” she said.