Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, on Monday, expressed solidarity with those affected by glacier burst in Uttarakhand. He also said the whole country stands with the residents of the state. Gandhi also hoped that the relief operations are not hindered in anyway.
Taking to Twitter, Rahul Gandhi wrote: "The whole country is with Uttarakhand. The most important thing right now is that relief operations are not hindered in the next few days. I am with those affected with all my heart and pray for your safety."
Meanwhile, a multi-agency operation to rescue an estimated 34 people trapped inside a big tunnel at Tapovan was carried out overnight after a glacier burst-triggered deluge killed 10 people in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, while over 140 are missing.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Monday informed that rescue operations following glacier burst in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand may continue for 48 hours.
"There is accessibility issue because it is a tough terrain. By road, only two teams could manage to reach Joshimath, the remaining teams were airlifted. It is difficult to predict how long, but rescue operation can possibly take 24-48 hours," SN Pradhan, Director General of NDRF, told ANI.
"Rescue operation underway in 2.5 km long tunnel. The problem lies with debris which's gradually being cleared. 27 people have been rescued, 11 are dead, 153 are missing, and out of 153, 40-50 are stuck in the tunnel and for the rest, there is a possibility of being washed away in Uttarakhand," he added.
A glacial broke in the Tapovan-Reni area of Chamoli District of Uttarakhand on Sunday, which led to massive flooding in Dhauliganga and Alaknanda rivers and damaged houses and the nearby Rishiganga power project.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
