Union minister Amit Shah share details of glacier burst in Uttarakhand's Chamoli

New Delhi, Feb 09: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday made statements on the avalanche in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand in Rajya Sabha. The disaster struck on Sunday morning when, as per DRDO's preliminary understanding, a hanging glacier broke off from the main glacier leading to a massive flood in Dhauli Ganga and Alaknanda rivers.

In the parliament, Amit Shah said that all concerned agencies of Centre and State are monitoring the situation. "450 jawans of ITBP, 5 teams of NDRF, 8 teams of Indian Army, a Navy team and 5 IAF helicopters are engaged in search and rescue operation," Shah said.

Explained: Is India prepared to tackle glacial burst?

"Till 5 PM yesterday, 20 bodies recovered and 197 people are missing out of which 139 are from NTPC's under construction power projects, 46 from Rishi Ganga Power Projects and 12 from villages," Shah added.

He furtner said that the state government has collected the information from different sources and numbers might change. "12 people of NTPC and 15 of Rishi Ganga have been rescued safely. 25-30 people are feared to be trapped in an tunnel of NTPC," Shah said.