31 of 58 bodies recovered in Uttarakhand glacier burst identified

CHAMOLI: All 11 bodies retrieved from Tapovan tunnel till now have been identified, informed Deputy Inspector General of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) Ridhim Aggarwal on Tuesday.

"31 of 58 bodies recovered so far have been identified. All 11 bodies retrieved from Tapovan tunnel till now have been identified," Aggarwal told ANI.

"Teams of SDRF and NDRF along with dog squads are conducting searches in Raini village, Tapovan, and nearby areas," she added.

According to the Uttarakhand Police, the death toll in the glacier burst in Chamoli has gone up to 58 as a total of 11 bodies are recovered from the Tapovan tunnel, whereas 146 people are still missing.

Meanwhile, the Chamoli District Magistrate Swati Bhadoria inspected the rescue operations that are underway in Chamoli.

Later, Bhadoria also met the families and relatives of the deceased and missing people in the glacier burst.

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Uttarakhand Irrigation Minister Satpal Maharaj had earlier said that the state government will create a department to investigate the cause of the glacier burst incident in Chamoli and monitoring of the glaciers through satellite.

"All angles (related to the Chamoli glacier burst) should be investigated. We will form a department in our ministry to monitor and study all the glaciers through satellite," Satpal said.

"We are concerned over the way glaciers are melting and the tidal wave created in the mountains. The plutonium pack that was kept to monitor China's movement should also be investigated," he added.

A glacier burst in the Tapovan-Reni area of Chamoli District of Uttarakhand last week led to massive flooding in the Dhauliganga and Alaknanda rivers and damaged houses and the nearby Rishiganga power project.