Rescue operation still underway after an avalanche in the Chamoli region, near the border with Tibet, trapped dozens of workers.
At least four people have died after an avalanche struck a highway construction site near India’s border with China, the Indian army reported, a day after the incident left dozens of workers trapped.
The avalanche hit the Mana Pass area in the Indian Himalayan state of Uttarakhand on Friday, burying 55 workers under the snow.
By Saturday, rescuers managed to save 50 people, but four later succumbed to their injuries, according to an army statement.
The search continues for five missing workers, with multiple rescue teams and military helicopters deployed.
The army did not specify the number of injured but stated that those in critical condition were being prioritized for evacuation.
Senior official Chandrashekhar Vashistha confirmed that several workers suffered serious injuries and were receiving medical treatment.
Uttarakhand State Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said some of the critically injured were taken to the Army Hospital in Joshimath for treatment.
“Efforts are underway to safely extract the remaining trapped workers as soon as possible,” Dhami posted on X.
Many of those trapped were migrant laborers working on a highway expansion project covering a 50km (31-mile) stretch from Mana, the last Indian village before the China border, to Mana Pass.
14 more personnel have been rescued and evacuated from the avalanche site by the Indian Army this morning.
Search and Rescue operations have been ongoing for more than 24 hours. With a slight improvement in the weather, three injured personnel were evacuated from Mana to… pic.twitter.com/BdcRNYJV84
— SuryaCommand_IA (@suryacommand) March 1, 2025
Indo-Tibetan Border Police spokesperson Kamlesh Kamal said rescue efforts were hampered by heavy snowfall, difficult terrain, and poor visibility.
Rescuers battled through deep snow and snowstorms to reach the workers.
Police reported that army doctors at the site performed life-saving surgeries on those critically injured.
Friday’s avalanche occurred as a parallel rescue effort continued for a seventh day in the southern Indian town of Nagarkurnool, where several workers remain trapped in a partially collapsed tunnel.
The ecologically fragile Himalayan region, increasingly affected by global warming, is prone to avalanches and flash floods.
In 2021, nearly 100 people died in Uttarakhand when a massive chunk of a glacier fell into a river, triggering flash floods.
Devastating monsoon floods and landslides in 2013 killed 6,000 people and prompted calls for a review of development projects in the state.
In 2022, an avalanche killed 27 trainee mountaineers in Uttarakhand, while a glacier burst in 2021 triggered a flash flood that left more than 200 people dead.
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