At least four construction workers have died, and five remain missing after an avalanche struck a highway construction site near India’s border with Tibet, the Indian Army said on Saturday.
The incident occurred on Friday near Mana Pass in Uttarakhand, trapping 55 workers under snow. Rescuers managed to pull out 50 workers, but four later succumbed to their injuries, according to an army statement cited by AP. Efforts continue to locate the missing individuals, with military helicopters and rescue teams deployed at the site.
Authorities have not disclosed the total number of injured but confirmed that the severely wounded are receiving priority evacuation. Chandrashekhar Vashistha, a senior administrative official, stated that some workers sustained serious injuries and were hospitalized.
Most of the trapped workers were migrant laborers engaged in a highway widening and blacktopping project along a 50-kilometer stretch from Mana, the last Indian village before the border.
Rescue operations were hampered by heavy snowfall, poor visibility, and harsh weather conditions, according to Kamlesh Kamal, a spokesperson for the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. “Rescuers had to navigate through several feet of snow and ongoing snowstorms,” he said.
