UTTARAKHAND AVALANCHE.. 41 TRAPPED.. NDRF Rushes 4 Teams To Spot

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Friday said it is rushing four teams to Uttarakhand's border district of Chamoli where 41 BRO labourers have been trapped under an avalanche.

NDRF Director General (DG) Piyush Anand told PTI that apart from these teams, another four units have been kept on standby.

"The rescue mission has been activated and the Union home minister (Amit Shah) has directed for a quick response. Four NDRF teams are being rushed (to the spot)," he said.

Officials said two of these four teams have been rushed from a nearby regional response centre (RRC) of the NDRF in Dehradun while the other two have been diverted from Joshimath, where they were undertaking a familiarisation exercise.

The snowslide had initially buried 57 Border Roads Organisation (BRO) labourers but 16 were pulled out safely.

The labourers were working to clear snow near the high altitude border village of Mana in Chamoli when the avalanche hit their camp between Mana and Badrinath, according to officials.

Mana, three kilometres from Badrinath, is the last village on the India-Tibet border at a height of 3,200 metres.