Twenty-five BRO construction workers are feared trapped under an avalanche at Mana village of Chamoli district in Uttarakhand near the India-China border, officials of the state disaster management department said on Friday.

They said 32 workers have been rescued safely, but incessant rains and snowfall have hampered the rescue operation.

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Nearly 57 construction workers were trapped under the avalanche on Thursday.

Officials engaged in the rescue operation have said that incessant pouring and snowfall for more than two days resulted in the breaking away of a thick mass of glacier from the hills close to the Mana village on Thursday at around 1.30 pm. Mass of glacier and snow came down on the road where ill fated workers had made their dwellings.

Rescue teams of Indo Tibet Border Police(ITBP) and Border Road Organisation (BRO) were able to save 32 workers while 25 were still trapped. A team of Uttarakhand State Disaster Response (SDRF) was also rushed to the avalanche site from its Joshimath base while two high altitude teams were stationed at Gauchar air base Chamoli and Shastradhara Dehradun.

Chamoli District Administration and SDRF officials informed that although exact position of the workers trapped under avalanche will be known after taking stock of the situation at the site but prima facie they were close to each other when avalanche occurred and a thick mass of snow and glacier came crashing down.

Meanwhile, ongoing rain and snowfall in the Badrinath area are causing difficulty in rescue operations of the 41 BRO construction workers trapped under the avalanche. Efforts are being made to clear snowclad roads with the help of Army and airdrop SDRF rescue teams.

“Today a group of road construction workers of BRO were trapped in an avalanche near the village Mana. While SDRF, BRO, NDRF and ITBP teams are making efforts to rescue them, low visibility due to bad weather has made the rescue operation challenging. Heli service became difficult due to bad weather.

“The government is constantly seeking advice from the weather department. It’s likely to be clear tomorrow morning. Helicopter services will immediately take off after that. Army, air force and other experts are being consulted for early rescue of the workers” said Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.

Dhami added “Prime Minister Office, Defence Minister and Union Home Minister are in touch with the state government and any help. We are constantly monitoring the rescue operation from Dehradun and our effort is to rescue all worker brothers as soon as possible.”

Chief minister further informed that 10 of the rescued workers sustained injuries. Three of them were admitted to the army hospital at Mana. Now their condition is good.

Sharing more details IG SDRF, Ridhim Agarwal informed that a team of SDRF was sent from its Joshimath station but thick snow on the road was causing difficulty in reaching out to the accident site. This happened due to blockade of Badrinath Road at Lambagad for continuous snowfall and rain. Agarwal said efforts were being made to contact the Indian Army station at Joshimath to remove snow from the road.

According to IG SDRF, an option for air dropping rescue teams was also being explored. She claimed that as soon as weather improves, the high-altitude rescue team of SDRF will be air dropped near the avalanche site through helicopter.

“SDRF and district administration are coordinating with BRO and Army. One SDRF drone team has also been kept in readiness. Drone operation is difficult at the moment due to heavy rain and snowfall but efforts are being made to launch it as early as possible” said Agarwal.

Agarwal confirmed that 57 workers of (BRO) were trapped in the avalanche near Mana village. She stated that according to information provided by the BRO commandant 15 workers were safely rescued while 42 were still missing. Among 15 rescued workers three injured were admitted at Army Hospital, Mana.