Search operation ends as bodies of 4 remaining missing workers found at Uttarakhand avalanche site, toll rises to 8

There were 54 workers at the project site when the avalanche buried the containers that the workers were using as living quarters. Forty-six of them were safely rescued.

Eight helicopters, including five from the Army, two from the Air Force and one civilian helicopter hired by the Army, have evacuated all rescued persons from Mana Post, near the avalanche site, to Joshimath Military Hospital.

The State Disaster Management Authority said that of the 46 rescued workers, 44 were admitted to the military hospital in Joshimath and are in stable condition. “Proper medical arrangements have been made for their treatment, and all their needs are being taken care of,” the SDMA said.

Two workers are undergoing treatment at AIIMS Rishikesh, and their condition is improving, the administration said.

Earlier on Sunday, while the search was still ongoing, Lt Colonel Manish Srivastava talked of the hi-tech equipment being deployed in the operation. “A drone-based ‘intelligent buried object detection system’ has been airlifted from Delhi, and via Dehradun, has reached Joshimath by MI-17 (a helicopter) to assist the search and rescue operations,” he said. Five quad copters and three mini drones were also deployed by the Army in the search.

The eight dead were identified as Mohinder Pal and Harmesh Chand from Himachal Pradesh; Jitender Singh, Manjeet Yadav, Alok Yadav, and Ashok Paswan from Uttar Pradesh; and Anil Kumar and Arvind Kumar Singh from Uttarakhand.

‘If only he had returned’

For their families, the news of their deaths came as a tragic conclusion to a panic-filled couple of days.

Ishwari Prasad, father of 23-year-old Anil Kumar from Sitarganj village of Udham Singh Nagar district, made frantic phone calls after learning of the avalanche and was initially told that his son was safe. However, on Sunday morning, Prasad learnt that Anil was among those still missing. Later in the day, Anil was confirmed dead.

“(Initially) I was informed that Anil was safe and in a hospital in Joshimath. The next day, newspapers carried articles saying he was safe. However, when I asked the authorities to help me connect with him, they could not do so,” he said.

Anil Kumar had gone to Mana after leaving his job at a toll plaza in October to work as a cook at the BRO site, according to his father.

The mix up happened because authorities initially mistook Prasad’s son for another Anil, an operator from Himachal Pradesh who had been rescued.

Prasad recalled that Anil was headed home on February 22, when he got a call and had to return to the site of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) project in the Mana area of Chamoli. He then planned to go home on March 1.

“We videocalled him on February 27 and he complained about the weather. The next day, after watching the news, I called several people and one of them told me Anil was in the hospital and was being treated. Later, we called a minister, who spoke with the DM and assured us that he was safe,” said Prasad.

On Sunday morning, they approached the district authorities. After contacting the State Disaster Management Authority and the Chief Minister’s Office, they got to know that Anil was yet to be rescued. “He was supposed to be home. If only he had come…,” said Prasad.

Apart from his parents, Anil is also survived by three brothers. He had gone to Mana after leaving his job at a toll plaza in October to work as a cook at the BRO site, according to his father.

‘Hardly a day went by without a video call’

In the village of Chho in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district, another family is in mourning after getting news from Chamoli on Sunday.

In the last video call they had with him, Mohinder Pal (42) had promised his family that he would return before the wheat harvest began at their fields.

On Sunday, the family learnt that Mohinder, a mechanic, was among the eight killed in the avalanche.

He is survived by his ailing mother, Pushpa Devi (64), wife Ramta Devi (37), a 10-year-old daughter and a four-year-old son.

Mohinder Pal (second from left) with his family.

His brother, Ram Gopal (36), told The Indian Express, “There was hardly a day when my brother didn’t contact us on video call. Whenever he called, he showed us the heavy snowfall and told us how much snow had accumulated… Last Friday, Mohinder assured me he would come home in time for the wheat harvest at our small piece of land — around 7 to 8 kanals.”

Ram Gopal said Mohinder had last visited home three months ago. “He joined his current job only recently and had not come home since then. Although we were anxious after hearing the news of the avalanche, we only received confirmation of my brother’s death this morning through a phone call from Badrinath. The company representative who called asked us to come to Rishikesh to receive the body, but we told them we couldn’t make the journey. The body will now reach here tomorrow morning,” he said Sunday.

Since hearing the news of the avalanche, Mohinder’s wife and mother have not eaten, the brother said. Their father, Desh Raj, who was a carpenter, had died in 2000.

A large number of local residents have gathered at Mohinder’s house to express their condolences.

Nurpur Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Gursimar Singh said, “We received information about the death of Mohinder Pal from the Uttarakhand government last night. We are in touch with the victim’s family.”

Kangra Deputy Commissioner Hemraj Bairwa said financial assistance would be provided to the victim’s family. “Our local administration is in contact with the grieving family. So far, we know that only one person from Kangra district has died in this tragedy,” he said.