Dehradun: The last four missing workers at the avalanche-hit

Border Roads Organisation

(BRO) camp near Mana on the India-China border in Uttarakhand were found dead on Sunday, bringing the toll in the tragedy to eight and ending the three-day multi-agency search and rescue operation, led by the Indian Army, to an end after almost 50 hours. Two of the 46 rescued workers remain in critical condition.
The deceased have been identified as Mohindra Pal, Jitendra Singh and Harmesh Chand from Himachal Pradesh; Manjeet Yadav, Alok Yadav, and Ashok Paswar from Uttar Pradesh; and Anil Kumar and Arvind Kumar Singh from Uttarakhand. The last body, that of Arvind Kumar, was recovered from beneath the snow beyond the village in Chamoli. Seven bodies were sent to Rishikesh after autopsy and will soon be transported to their home states. Arvind's remains are expected to reach Jyotirmath on Monday.
Meanwhile, officials clarified that 54 workers — not 55 as initially reported — were engaged in the double-laning project of the Mana Pass highway, which connects Mana village near Badrinath to the India-China border. Sunil Kumar, from Dumaal village in Himachal's Kangra district, was mistakenly listed as missing but was later confirmed to be at home on leave. Of the workers at the site, 46 survived, of which 44 were taken to Army hospital in Jyotirmath. Two critically- injured workers are admitted to AIIMS Rishikesh, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said.
The operation relied on advanced search equipment, including thermal imaging, victim-locating cameras, rotary rescue saws, and avalanche rods. The Army also deployed a ‘drone-based intelligent buried object detection system' flown in from Delhi by an Mi-17 helicopter. An avalanche rescue dog was used in the search as well.

Lt Col Manish Shrivastava, PRO, defence (Dehradun), said, "We deployed five quadcopters, three mini remotely piloted drones, and two members of the Tiranga Mountain Rescue (TMR) team, which specialises in avalanche rescues. The TMR signed an agreement with the Army last Sept in the presence of the COAS to train personnel for high-altitude operations."
He added that eight helicopters were used. "Five were from Army aviation, two from the Indian Air Force, and one from a private agency. The Army's central command signed a contract in February to integrate private helicopters for logistics support in high-altitude areas of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. These helicopters helped evacuate all survivors to the military hospital in Jyotirmath."
With a yellow alert for rain and snow issued for Monday, CM Dhami had set a deadline to recover the last missing worker by Sunday, warning that worsening weather conditions from March 3 would complicate further efforts. The 54 workers at the camp included 14 from Bihar, 11 each from Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, six from Himachal Pradesh, one each from Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab, and 10 from Nepal.