Dozens of construction workers were rescued after being trapped for nearly 36 hours when a deadly avalanche struck a Himalayan village in northern India. The disaster, triggered by heavy snowfall last Friday, buried a construction site in Mana, Uttarakhand, at an altitude of 10,500 feet (3,200 meters).
The Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police led the rescue efforts, saving 46 workers who had taken shelter in metal containers. Unfortunately, eight lives were lost. Many of the survivors were migrant laborers working on a highway project in the remote area.
Lt. Col. Manish Srivastava, a defense spokesperson, noted that the workers usually stayed in tents but had used containers due to harsh weather—a decision that likely saved many lives. He explained that locating large containers in dense snow was far easier than finding individuals buried beneath.
Photos shared by the Indian Army showed soldiers with sniffer dogs around the partially crushed containers. In a video from his hospital bed, one survivor expressed gratitude for the swift rescue efforts.
Avalanches and landslides are common in the Himalayas, but climate change is worsening their frequency and intensity. According to a 2023 report, glaciers in the region melted 65% faster in the 2010s than the previous decade, increasing risks for mountain communities. In 2021, a glacier collapse in Uttarakhand killed over 200 people.
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