Rescue operation may wind up in 3-4 days: Uttarakhand DGP

Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar on Monday said he is expecting that the rescue operation in disasterhit Chamoli may wind up in the next 34 daysI think the rescue operation may wind up in 34 days By that time we may be able to cover everything But if the need be the rescue operation may continue for more days may be for another one month said KumarMeanwhile rescuers found five more bodies including three from inside a tunnel of the disasterhit Tapovan project in Chamoli district in Uttarakhand since Sunday night taking the total number of bodies recovered so far to 55During the excavation work inside the tunnel nine bodies have been found so far officials said Elsewhere seven bodies were recovered from Reni area where the Rishiganga project was destroyed in the floods With the recovery of five more bodies since Sunday night the total has gone up to 55 Nearly 200 people went missing after the Feb 7 morning delugeThis is the first time since the Feb 7 floods that the rescuers have been able to find bodies inside the tunnel We are expecting more bodies as hopes for survival are receding admitted a top official There is still no contact with the remaining people trapped insideDIG Nilesh Anand Bharne who is spokesman of the state police claimed the rescue work had been speeded up with the installation of some additional machines like excavatorsThe rescuers are working on two places one inside the tunnel and other at the remains of the Rishiganga project in Reni They have stopped drilling process inside the tunnel said Superintendent of Police SP ChamoliAfter days of digging and excavation works jawans of army ITBP NDRF and SDRF who are engaged in the rescue works had managed open a sizeable portion of the tunnel But the presence of heavy silt and sludge inside the tunnel slowed down the excavation and digging work top government officials admitted Rescuers also consulted NTPC officials to understand the complicated design of the tunnelAs the bodies started recovering from the debris inside the tunnel the rescuers are slowly digging the tunnel so that bodies should not get hammeredThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever