Glacial burst in India's Uttarakhand triggers avalanche, 295 rescued

NEW DELHI -- Authorities in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand Saturday said part of a glacier collapsed triggering an avalanche, trapping hundreds of people.

According to officials so far 295 personnel belonging to India's Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) were rescued in the nightlong operation after the incident occurred in an area in Chamoli district on Friday.

A BRO Camp came under an avalanche in the afternoon of Friday during heavy snowfall in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, Indian army said in a statement.

"While 55 BRO persons could be mustered at first count, blizzard conditions kept rescue operation at bay till late evening," the statement said, adding that so far 295 persons were brought to safety.

Rescue operations that were temporarily halted during night hours owing to bad weather conditions were resumed Saturday morning, according to the statement.

Locals officials said they were trying to assess the magnitude of damage in the area.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat said that his government has issued an alert and that he was in constant touch with BRO officials and district authorities.

Federal Minister for water resources Gajendra Singh Shekhawat described the incident as "unfortunate" and said he was monitoring the situation closely.

In February, a similar disaster led to a massive avalanche followed by floods, killing at least 80 people in the area.