New Delhi: Survivors of the Uttarakhand avalanche have shared harrowing experiences of how a massive snowslide engulfed the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp, leaving them stranded for hours until rescue teams arrived. The disaster claimed four lives, all construction workers, while five others remain missing. Among the 55 workers trapped under the snow was Gopal Joshi, who had been operating an accelerator machine at the BRO camp near Mana village in Chamoli district. He and his colleagues were employed by Vijay Infra Construction Company.
Currently receiving treatment at the Army’s Jyotirmath hospital along with 22 others, Joshi recounted the terrifying moment when the avalanche struck. He recalled hearing a loud thunderous noise early on Friday morning. Although he tried to flee, the thick snow made it impossible to move quickly.
Survivors recount ordeal
“It must have been around 6 am when the incident occurred. We stepped out of our containers and saw a huge mass of snow hurtling toward us. I yelled to warn my companions and tried to run, but the deep snow slowed us down. After about two hours, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel arrived and pulled us to safety,” Joshi told PTI. He suffered head injuries and complained of chest pain.
Vipin Kumar, another worker from Himachal Pradesh, sustained a back injury. He said he was buried under snow for nearly 15 minutes before managing to free himself once the avalanche had settled. Calling it his “second birth,” Kumar expressed gratitude for surviving the disaster.
Manoj Bhandari, another survivor, described the avalanche as a “mountain of snow” sliding down from the peak. He ran for cover behind a parked loader machine. Jagbir Singh from Amritsar, Punjab, recalled the chaos. He said, “The avalanche was so intense that we couldn’t even help our companions escape.”
Similarly, three workers from Mathura said their attempt to flee was hampered by the thick snow covering the area. Of the 55 workers caught in the avalanche, 46 were rescued. Four succumbed to their injuries in the hospital. Authorities are continuing search operations to locate the five missing workers.
