LUCKNOW, India (AP) – Indian authorities launched a search operation on Sunday after part of a mountain glacier broke, sending a huge flood of water and debris that hit two dams and damaged several houses. At least three people have died and 140 are missing.
The flood was caused when part of the Nanda Devi glacier broke in the Tapovan area of Uttarakhand state on Sunday morning. A video shared by officials and taken from the side of a steep slope shows a wall of water rising into one of the dams and breaking it into pieces with little resistance before continuing to roar downstream.
The Rishiganga hydroelectric plant was destroyed, while the Dhauliganga hydroelectric plant was damaged, said Vivek Pandey, a spokesman for the paramilitary police on the Indo-Tibetan border.
Pandey said that three bodies were recovered near a tunnel in the Dhauliganga project, where at least 16 workers remained imprisoned. Another 140 workers at the two factories were missing, he said.
Ravi Bejaria, a government spokesman, said some houses were also damaged by the floods.
Authorities said that when the glacier broke, the water trapped behind it, as well as mud and other debris, descended the mountain and hit other bodies of water. A statement was issued urging people living on the banks of the Alaknanda River to move to safer places immediately.
Several rescue workers were rushed to the affected area, officials said.
The Himalayan area has a chain of energy projects on the Alknanda River and its tributaries.
In 2013, thousands of people were killed in Uttarakhand after heavy rains caused landslides and floods, taking thousands of homes and roads and cutting communication links in many parts of the state.
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This story has been corrected to show that the authorities launched their search operation on Sunday, not Saturday.