The death toll in India due to a flash flood caused by the bursting of a Himalayan glacier rose to at least 26 on Monday, while rescue workers are still looking for about 200 missing people, according to officials.
The broken piece of the Nanda Devi glacier sent a wall of water and debris through a valley early Sunday, breaking two dams and destroying bridges and roads by hitting two hydroelectric plants.
A team of scientists flew to the region on Monday to find out what caused the disaster – with some experts already blaming global warming.
Whatever the cause, “everything has been swept away – people, livestock and trees,” said Sangram Singh Rawat, a former Raini village council member, the closest location to one of the damaged hydroelectric plants.
The workers recovered at least 26 bodies. More than 2,000 members of the armed forces, paramilitary groups and police continued the mass search and rescue for some 200 people still missing.
Most of the disappeared were workers at the two plants, with 37 trapped inside a 2.4-kilometer tunnel filled with mud and stones.
“The tunnel is full of rubble, which came from the river. We are using machines to clear the way, ”said H. Gurung, a senior paramilitary police officer on the Indo-Tibetan border.
The floods also damaged homes, but it was not clear how many residents were dead or missing. Government officials have launched packages of food and medicine for at least two villages affected by the flood.
As scientists examine the cause of the glacier crash, some noted that it snowed heavily last week in the Nanda Devi area, possibly causing an avalanche when it started to melt.
Others are already blaming global warming, watching the global melting and breaking of the world’s glaciers.
“This looks a lot like a climate change event, as glaciers are melting due to global warming,” said Anjal Prakash, research director and adjunct professor at the Indian School of Business.
The disaster also raises questions about the resistance of the dams.
“The dams must support a much greater force. It was not a monsoon flood, it was much less, ”said Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of the Network of Dams, Rivers and People of South Asia.
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