A total of 32 Border Roads Organisation (BRO) workers have been rescued after being trapped under snow following an avalanche near Mana village in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, officials confirmed late Friday.

Chamoli District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari said that out of the 57 workers initially trapped, 32 have been safely evacuated. “Rescue operations are ongoing to evacuate the remaining 25 workers,” he added.

The Uttarakhand Disaster Management Department said that relief and rescue efforts are being carried out on a war footing. “By 5:00 pm, 32 people had been rescued safely. The process of evacuating the remaining workers is in progress. The avalanche occurred six kilometers ahead of Badrinath Dham in Chamoli district,” the department said.

In response to the crisis, the Uttarakhand government issued emergency helpline numbers for those seeking assistance or information regarding the avalanche. The helpline numbers are as follows:

Mobile: 8218867005, 9058441404
Telephone: 0135 2664315
Toll-Free: 1070

Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and assured full support for the rescue operation. “Our priority is to safely evacuate those trapped. Two NDRF teams are also en route to the site,” Shah said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also expressed concern and assured that local Army units are assisting in the rescue. “An unfortunate avalanche occurred in the Mana area of Joshimath, impacting the GREF camp of BRO. The administration and local Army units are making every effort to rescue those trapped,” Singh posted on X.

Chief Minister Dhami confirmed that personnel from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Army are actively engaged in the rescue operation. Meanwhile, IG Nilesh Anand Bharne, spokesperson for the Uttarakhand Police Headquarters, reported that 10 workers had been rescued earlier, with search and rescue operations continuing for the others.

(Inputs from ANI)