Mana, three kilometres from Badrinath, is the last village on the India-Tibet border at a height of 3200 metres. The 57 labourers were at the camp when the avalanche struck in the morning. “These labourers do regular snow clearing work on the route for ...

Thirty-three of a total of 55 BRO workers trapped under an avalanche in the high-altitude village of Mana in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district have been rescued, with concerns over the safety of the remaining 22 mounting as night fell on the snowbound slopes and the rescue efforts came to a temporary halt.

Updating the situation, Uttarakhand Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman confirmed that 33 workers had been rescued, while 22 remain unaccounted for. He clarified that the initial report of 57 trapped workers was incorrect, as two were on leave at the time of the incident.

The avalanche, which engulfed the BRO camp situated between Mana and Badrinath, struck early on Friday morning. Several rescue teams braved the rugged terrain, deep snow, and freezing temperatures to reach the trapped workers.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the disaster control room on Friday evening to assess the situation and directed officials to speed up the rescue operation in the state following the avalanche that trapped 52 Border Roads Organisation (BRO) workers.