Indian construction workers missing after avalanche hits mountain road

An avalanche has swept away a large construction crew working on a highway near India’s mountainous border with Tibet, injuring at least three workers and leaving 25 of them trapped.

The incident took place near the Mana Pass in northern Uttarakhand state, and 57 construction workers were initially buried under snow. Authorities said rescue teams have pulled out 32 workers so far.

Senior police officer Rajeev Swaroop said three of them were taken to a military hospital for treatment, and efforts were under way to locate the others missing amid adverse weather conditions.

The workers were engaged in a highway-widening project along a 50km stretch from Mana, the last village on the Indian side, to the Mana Pass bordering Tibet.

Uttarakhand’s top elected official Pushkar Singh Dhami said the national disaster response force was helping with rescue efforts.

The ecologically sensitive Himalayan region, which has been severely affected by global warming, is prone to avalanches and flash floods.

In 2022, 27 trainee mountaineers were killed in an avalanche in the northern Uttarakhand region. A year earlier, a glacier burst in the state resulted in a flash flood that left more than 200 people dead.