DEHRADUN: Exactly a week after almost non-stop rescue operations began to search for more than 30 people stranded inside the head race tunnel at the NTPC hydropower plant site in Tapovan, rescuers for the first time found six bodies inside the 1.6km long slush-filled tunnel.
The discovery deflated the hopes of the families of the trapped workers who have been praying for a miracle.
“The bodies were found 125 metres inside the tunnel. Our team is continuing clearing slush in order to go deeper in,” said Vivek Pandey, spokesperson, ITBP. Rescuers believed the stranded men would be at a point 180m into the tunnel. Till Sunday night, rescue teams had reached 140m inside, sources said.
During the day, 14 bodies were recovered from various sites of flood-ravaged Chamoli, taking the toll to 52, while 152 people are still reported missing, Chamoli’s district disaster management officer Nandkumar Joshi told TOI.\