India dam disaster toll rises to 72

NEW DELHI - Authorities in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand on Saturday said the death toll in the dam disaster has risen to 72 and the search for missing people was underway.

"As of now, a total of 72 bodies and 30 human body parts have been retrieved from different places," read a statement issued by police. "Out of these 40 bodies and one body part has been identified."

Police said DNA profiling of the unidentified bodies was being carried out.

According to police, missing reports of 205 persons had been filed so far at Joshimath police station.

"So far DNA samples of 110 relatives, 58 bodies and 28 body parts have been sent for matching to forensic science laboratory (FSL) Dehradun," the statement said.

Meanwhile, the search operation in the area is underway.

On Feb 7, a glacier was believed to have crashed into a dam in Uttarakhand, triggering a huge flood.

The floodwaters burst open a dam and a deluge of water hurtled down flooding the area in its course, damaging two hydropower projects and leading to numerous deaths, besides endangering hundreds of others.

Majority of the missing in the disaster are believed to be workers from two hydropower plants.

Immediately after the incident, rescuers rushed to carry out efforts on several sites, including a tunnel more than 200 metres long to save the trapped ones.

Apart from locals, authorities moved in disaster response force personnel, troops, paramilitaries and military helicopters to the state to help with rescue efforts.