[ad_1]
TAPOVAN (AFP) – A hiss turned into a roar of water that trapped a dozen men in a Himalayan tunnel after a glacier erupted in northern India, but Rajesh Kumar lived to tell the tale.
Eighteen people were confirmed dead on Monday (February 8) and at least 200 others missing after the glacier broke into a mountainside, causing a flash flood through a valley in the northern state of Uttarakhand.
The floods flooded a nearby hydroelectric complex where Kumar and his colleagues were working 300 meters into a tunnel.
“We didn’t think we were going to make it,” the 28-year-old told AFP from his hospital bed.
“Suddenly there was a hissing sound … there was screaming, people were telling us to get out. We thought it was a fire. We started running but the water gushing in. It was like a Hollywood movie.”
The men clung to the rods of the scaffolding in the tunnel for four hours, keeping their heads above the water and debris, trying to reassure each other.
“We keep saying to each other, whatever happens, we must not let go of the rods. Thank God our hands did not lose their grip,” Kumar said.
As the flood progressed through the valley, the water began to recede in the tunnel, leaving it filled with more than 1.5 m of debris and mud.
“We climbed through the rock debris and made our way to the mouth of the tunnel,” Kumar said.
There they found a small opening but were not sure where it led.
“All we knew was that we could feel some air.”
Finally, they saw some light pass by and one of the men received a telephone signal and called for rescue.
There were emotional scenes when Mr. Kumar and his colleagues were pulled out of a small hole in the surface.
Some beat the air with joy when they saw the light of day, some were put directly on stretchers and carried away. A man raised his arms and then fell face first into the mud.
They were trapped inside a flooded tunnel for four hours, but miraculously managed to escape with minor injuries.
The glacier broke away when the power complex was fully operational, and dozens of workers are still missing at two power plants.
About 35 workers were feared trapped in another tunnel.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said efforts to clear the tunnel had continued overnight.
About 80 m of mud and rock were removed, but there were still another 100 m to reach the workers.
“It is possible that about 35 people are trapped inside,” Rawat said.
Hundreds of paramilitaries and emergency services workers roamed the valley Monday looking for signs of more survivors.
[ad_2]
