RISHIKESH, India – Indian authorities launched a search on Sunday after part of a Himalayan glacier broke, sending a massive flood of water and debris into two dams and damaging a number of homes. At least nine people died and 140 were missing.
The flood was caused when part of the Nanda Devi Glacier broke off on Sunday morning in the Tapovan area of the northern state of Uttarakhand. A video shared by officials and taken from the side of a steep slope shows a wall of water flowing into one of the dams, breaking it to pieces with little resistance before continuing to roar downstream.
The Rishiganga hydroelectric power station on the Alaknanda River was destroyed, while the Dhauliganga hydroelectric power station on the Dhauliganga River was damaged, said Vivek Pandey, a spokesman for the Indo-Tibetan border police paramilitary force. Both rivers arise from the Himalaya Mountains and merge before merging with the Ganges River.
Pandey said all 12 workers trapped in a tunnel near the Dhauliganga project were rescued and provided first aid. He said earlier that 16 people were locked up.
Another 140 workers in the two factories were missing, Pandey said.
Surjeet Singh, a police officer, said nine bodies have been recovered so far during intensified rescue operations.
Pandey said soldiers were called in who are experts in mountaineering and rescue operations.
“The situation is under control and there is no need to panic,” he said.
Officials said that when the glacier broke, it had trapped water behind it, as well as mud and other debris pouring down from the mountain and into other bodies of water. Many villages were evacuated when authorities issued an advisory and urged people living on the banks of the Alaknanda and Dhauliganga rivers to move immediately to safer places.
Ravi Bejaria, a government spokesman, said there were houses damaged in the flood, although he had no details on the number and whether any of the residents were injured, missing or dead.
Authorities routed two dams further along the river to prevent floodwaters from reaching the cities of Haridwar and Rishikesh, where popular tourist spots on the banks of the Ganges River were closed and all boating activities were halted.
“We heard that a glacier had broken and people feared that the water level would rise,” said Prince Chawla, a boat owner in Rishikesh. “But from now on the water level here hasn’t really risen too much.”
Uttarakhand Police Chief Ashok Kumar said officials immediately warned residents of the area and evacuated them to safer locations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet that he was “constantly monitoring the unfortunate situation”. He added, “India is behind Uttarakhand and the nation is there praying for everyone’s safety.”
In 2013, thousands of people were killed in Uttarakhand after heavy rains caused landslides and floods, washed away thousands of homes and roads, and lost communications in many parts of the state.