Uttarakhand avalanche survivors waded in 'feet-thick' snow to escape

Avalanche in Chamoli district leaves workers injured and trapped, with 4 dead, in a harrowing tale of survival.

On Friday (February 28, 2025), Gopal Joshi, one of 55 construction workers housed in containers near Mana, came out expecting a morning sheathed in silence like every day. What he met with was a roaring cascade of snow coming right at them with a ferocious speed.

The avalanche, common in winter in the area, eventually left the site in a state of ruin, and the workers plodding in thick snow to outrun a veritable entombment.

Fifty workers were rescued, while four of them died on Saturday.

Joshi, a native of Narayanbagar in Chamoli district, had been operating an accelerator machine for the last several months. The group was employed at a BRO camp by Vijay Infra Construction Company.

It all happened in a jiffy, Joshi, who was admitted for treatment along with his 22 colleagues to the Army's Jyotirmath hospital, recalled.

The weather was as bad as it had been for the last few days, he said.

"Snow was falling outside. The incident must have happened around 6 a.m. As soon as we came out of the container, we heard a loud thunder. When we looked towards the top, we saw a deluge of snow rolling towards us. I shouted to alert my companions and ran.