Engineer from Kashmir ,working in Rishi-Ganga Power Project among those missing in Uttarakhand

A Kashmiri, identified as Basharat Ahmed Zargar, working as a consultant in the Rishi-Ganga Power Project in Uttarakhand is believed to be trapped inside the power house tunnel, said some family sources of the consultant.

They said that they lost contact with Basharat, hailing from 90 feet Soura, Srinagar after the glacier disaster struck the powerhouse in Uttarakhand on Sunday. Basharat remained untraceable on Monday as the family said the youth was in touch with them on Sunday morning.

The family believes that he would be trapped inside the tunnel as rescue operations are still going on to locate those trapped inside the tunnel. Multiple agencies raced against time to reach about 30 workers trapped inside a tunnel in a power project site and 175 people remained missing.

Meanwhile, officials said five more bodies were recovered today and the death toll from the glacier disaster rose to 31.

The State Emergency Operation Centre said five bodies were found in the morning, taking the death toll to 31, and estimated that 175 people are still missing.

With the hours ticking by inexorably, fears escalated about those missing since the disaster struck on Sunday morning, according to officials who stepped up efforts to locate survivors.

Officials said , the missing people include those working at NTPC’s 480 MW Tapovan-Vishnugad project and the 13.2 MW Rishiganga Hydel Project and villagers whose homes nearby were washed away.

A senior official added that the rescuers have not been able to make any contact with those stuck inside but are hopeful for “signs of life”.