Reacting to the glacier burst in Uttarakhand, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that he is ‘deeply saddened’ by the loss of lives and expressed condolences to families of victims affected, his spokesperson informed. The United Nations stands ready to contribute to ongoing rescue and assistance efforts if necessary, he added.

In the aftermath of the Uttarakhand glacier burst, 10 bodies have been recovered till now, Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar said on Monday. Currently, 32 people from the first tunnel and 121 people from the second one are still missing and rescue operations to recover people still trapped in the tunnels are underway in full swing.

The glacier burst took place at the Rishiganga power project after a portion of Nanda Devi glacier broke off in Tapovan area of Joshimath in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on Sunday morning and damaged the Rishiganga dam on Alaknanda river.

Twelve people on Sunday were rescued from the smaller tunnel, DGP Ashok Kumar said adding that efforts are underway to open the bigger tunnel where more people are feared trapped.

Rescue operations in one of the tunnels of Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project intensified on Monday as at least 30 people are still trapped inside. “Around 300 ITBP jawans are deployed to clear the tunnel,” said ITBP Spokesperson Vivek Pandey.  As operations are underway, “more teams will be sent there if it is required, we are focussing on rescuing people from the tunnel first,” Pandey added.