Over 150 people are feared to have died after a Himalayan glacier broke and crashed on a dam in India on Sunday, February 7.
Flash floods rushed towards villages downstream, with eyewitnesses stating that everything happened too fast and that there wasn’t enough time to alert everyone.
“The actual number has not been confirmed yet but 100 to 150 people were feared dead,” said Om Prakash, chief secretary of Uttarakhand state where the incident happened, as per reports from Reuters.
Sanjay Singh Rana, one of the residents who lives in the upper area of the Raini village stated that they suspect that people who were working at a hydro powerplant and villagers who were near the river grazing their cattle, might have all been swept away.
“We have no idea how many people are missing,” said Rana.
Indian authorities have placed its northern districts on high alert since the incident took place.
Various footages on social media showed water and debris flowing down fast through the stream.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat stated that the flow of the river has normalized hours after the incident.
“The flow of the Alaknanda River beyond Nandprayag (stretch) has become normal. The water level of the river is now 1 meter above normal but the flow is decreasing,” said Rawat.
Deeply concerned to hear about the news of flooding due to a devastating avalanche in Joshimath area of Chamoli distt in Uttarakhand.
I pray for the safety & wellbeing of the people.
May God keep everyone safe from this calamity.@tsrawatbjp pic.twitter.com/IOXgEh0Ldt— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) February 7, 2021
