Ace Breaking News – In short:  Dozens of workers have been trapped after an avalanche was triggered in an Indian Himalayan mountain state. The avalanche struck a labour site where eight containers and one shed were buried under snow. 

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Officials said 32 people had been rescued so far, and no casualties were indicated.

At least 25 people remain trapped under snow after an avalanche struck the Indian Himalayan mountain state of Uttarakhand, following recent heavy snowfall in the region.

The avalanche occurred near a highway in the state’s Chamoli region, adjoining Tibet, and less than 5km from the Hindu temple of Badrinath, which is visited by hundreds of thousands of devotees every year.

Members of the army were seen carrying a person on a stretcher through knee-deep snow. (Supplied: Indian Army)normal

It struck a labour site of the federal Border Roads Organisation (BRO), where eight containers and one shed, with 57 workers inside, were buried under the snow, according to an Indian army statement.

Five of the containers had been located, the statement said, and the search for the remaining three was ongoing.

At least 32 workers had been rescued, Chamoli’s District Administrator Sandeep Tiwari told news agency ANI on Friday evening, and there was no indication of any casualties.

Chamoli’s District Administrator Sandeep Tiwari said that rain and snowfall were limiting mobility and the use of helicopter services.

Rain and snowfall were limiting mobility and the use of helicopter services. (Supplied: Indian Army)normal

India’s weather department expects “heavy to very heavy” snowfall — defined as at least 12 centimetres of snow — over the state through Friday and to then subside “significantly.”

Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) deployed for the rescue operation were also facing delays in reaching the workers, senior NDRF official Mohsen Shahedi told Reuters.

Uttarakhand, which is located in the Himalayas, is increasingly prone to flash floods and landslides due to rising global temperatures, and environmentalists have urged a review of power projects and other development work there.

At least 80 people were killed, and more than 200 reported missing when a part of a glacier in the state broke away in February 2021. 

An avalanche in 2022 in the area killed 16 people.

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