Forty-one BRO labourers working to clear snow near the high altitude border village of Mana in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district were trapped under an avalanche on Friday. The snowslide had initially buried 57 men but 16 were pulled out safely, officials said.

The avalanche buried a camp of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) between Mana and Badrinath, Chamoli DM Sandeep Tiwari said as multiple teams battled tough terrain, heavy snow and rain to rescue the workers. There was no immediate news of any casualties. Mana, three kilometres from Badrinath, is the last village on the India-Tibet border at a height of 3200 metres. The 57 labourers were at the camp when the avalanche struck in the morning.