Laying on a bed at the Army’s Jyotirmath hospital, Gopal Joshi, recalled the horrific experience of how tonnes of snow came crashing down on the BRO Camp. Joshi was one of the workers who were trapped after an avalanche hit the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district.
The avalanche hit the BRO camp between Mana and Badrinath between 5:30 am and 6 am on Friday, burying 55 workers inside eight containers and a shed, according to the Army.
Fifty workers have been pulled out of snow from the site since then. Gopal Joshi was also pulled out by the rescuers. Laying on the bed, he thanked Lord Badrinath for saving his life.
Recounting the harrowing experience, Joshi said, “Fresh snow was falling outside. As soon as we came out of the container house, we heard thunder and saw a deluge of snow hurtling towards us. I shouted to alert my companions and started running.”
“Several feet of snow prevented us from running fast. After two hours, the ITBP rescued us,” Joshi told PTI.
Joshi, a native of Narayanbagar in Chamoli district, had been operating an accelerator machine for the last several months. The group was employed at a BRO camp by Vijay Infra Construction Company.
Vipin Kumar of Himachal Pradesh, who hurt his back, said he was buried in snow for about 15 minutes. “I was able to get out of the snow only when the avalanche stopped,” said Kumar, who said it was his second birth.
Another worker, Manoj Bhandari, said he woke up to a “mountain of snow” sliding from the peak. “I shouted to alert everyone and ran behind the loader machine parked nearby to save myself.”
According to latest rescue updates provided by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA), five labourers were missing but one of them — Sunil Kumar from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh — has reached home safely on his own and now, the search is focused on the four remaining workers.
