Uttarakhand glacier burst: Death toll rises to 28, operation underway to rescue 35 people trapped in tunnel

The death toll in the Uttarakhand glacier burst incident has mounted to 28, said the Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Tuesday.

"About 35 people are stuck inside the tunnel, we are trying to drill and make way via rope to reach them. We have recovered two more corpses, total death count has reached 28 so far," Rawat said

The Chief Minister said that the rescue team has managed to reach the Malari valley area in the Dhauli Ganga valley through a rope to deliver ration packages.

"Rescue team has managed to reach the Malari Valley area through rope and now necessary packages, ration can be sent easily. Earlier, only a limited stock could be supplied via helicopter but there will not be any problem now," he said.

The operation tasks for rescue operations commenced with Mi-17 airborne from Dehradun for Joshimath with NDRF personnel on board this morning.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) said that an ALH carrying DRDO's Directorate General Resettlement (DGR) scientists is undertaking a recce of the Tapovan area.

Earlier today, a joint team of ITBP, Army, NDRF, and SDRF entered the Tapovan tunnel to check the water level inside the tunnel ahead of the point where the debris have been cleared.

As per the State Emergency Operations Center, Dehradun, 16 firemen are deployed at the site along with 26 personnel of police.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday will apprise the Rajya Sabha about the ongoing rescue operations in Uttarakhand in the wake of glacier burst.

( With inputs from ANI )