Four workers have died, and five others remain missing after an avalanche trapped 50 workers in India’s Uttarakhand, according to the Times of India.
The avalanche struck the village of Mana on Friday, where the workers had been stationed at a highway construction site under the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
Lt Col Manish Srivastava, spokesperson for the Indian Army, stated that helicopters had been deployed to the Himalayan region to search for the missing individuals.
Local residents noted that the accident site is known to be prone to avalanches during the winter, and the BRO camp is typically shut down during this season. Former Mana village council member Gaurav Kunwar told BBC News on Friday that the affected region is a “migratory area” with no permanent inhabitants.
“The camp was not closed this year due to a lack of snowfall, and that is why these people got trapped,” Mana village headman Pitambar Singh explained to PTI.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami conducted an aerial survey of the site and assured that authorities are committed to offering full support to those affected “in this hour of crisis.”
