Two C-130J Super Hercules (military transport aircraft) with three compes of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 15 tonnes of other loads and equipment were sent from Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad for rescue operations following the glacier burst in Uttarakhand, said defence officials on Sunday.
The officials said that the first C-130J has landed at the Jolly Grant airport near Dehradun and the second one would be landing soon.
According to officials, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat is monitoring military efforts for rescue operations. An Air Commodore-rank officer has been deployed at Jolly Grant by the Air Force as Task Force commander to coordinate the aerial effort for rescue operations in view of the floods, they said.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has announced that state government will give financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each to kin of the deceased.
At least nine bodies have been recovered from the National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) site in the Tapovan area, said SS Deswal, Director General, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
"It is suspected that around 100 workers were at the site out of which, 9-10 dead bodies have been recovered from the river," he said.
A DRDO team of snow and avalanche experts from its newly-created Defence Geo Informatics Research Establishment would be reaching the site where the flash flood occurred tomorrow to assess the situation. The team would also assess the situation in the glaciers around the site of the accident, DRDO officials said.
Seven Navy diving teams are on standby for the flash flood relief operations in the state, said the Navy officials.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs is monitoring the situation after the water level in the Dhauli Ganga River increased following an avalanche near a power project at Raini village in the Tapovan area.The avalanche was triggered after a glacial burst in Chamoli district on Sunday.
( With inputs from ANI )
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