DEVELOPING STORY
Footage from native TV channels reveals water gushing in the direction of a dam within the state of Uttarakhand, washing away elements of it.
Dozens of persons are feared lifeless in India after a Himalayan glacier broke aside and crashed right into a hydroelectric dam with individuals hurriedly being evacuated amid rising water ranges on a close-by river.
Footage from TV channels and information company ANI confirmed water gushing in the direction of the dam within the state of Uttarakhand on Sunday, washing away elements of it and no matter else was in its path.
Om Prakash, chief secretary of Uttarakhand state, mentioned as many as 150 individuals have been feared lifeless however “the precise quantity has not been confirmed but”.
A witness mentioned he noticed a wall of mud, rocks and water as an avalanche roared down a river valley.
“It got here very quick, there was no time to alert anybody,” Sanjay Singh Rana, who lives on the higher reaches of Raini village, advised the Reuters information company by telephone. “I felt that even we might be swept away.”
Native authorities reported that districts together with Pauri, Tehri, Rudraprayag, Haridwar and Dehradun, have been placed on excessive alert.
“The information of aid is that the move of Alaknanda River … has grow to be regular,” Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat mentioned on Twitter. “The water stage of the river is now 1 metre [3 feet] above regular however the move is reducing.”
‘The nation prays’
The Instances of India newspaper quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi as saying he was monitoring the state of affairs in Uttarakhand.
“India stands with Uttarakhand and the nation prays for everybody’s security there. Have been repeatedly chatting with senior authorities and getting updates on … rescue work and aid operations,” mentioned Modi.
Uttarakhand within the Himalayas is liable to flash floods and landslides. In June 2013, document rainfall brought on devastating floods that killed shut to six,000 individuals.
That catastrophe was dubbed the “Himalayan tsunami” by the media due to the torrents of water unleashed within the mountainous space, which despatched mud and rocks crashing down, burying properties, sweeping away buildings, roads and bridges.