Badrinath Avalanche News Live Updates: Body of last missing worker recovered; death toll reaches 8

Four workers lost their lives, and four remain missing after an avalanche struck a temporary Border Roads Organisation (BRO) workers’ camp near a highway construction site, 500 meters beyond Mana, near the India-China border. Officials confirmed the incident on Saturday evening.

Rescue teams, led by the Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), retrieved the bodies in an overnight operation, but deep snow and extreme weather continue to hamper search efforts. The avalanche hit around 5 a.m. on Friday, trapping several workers. Of the 55 present at the site, 47 were rescued by Saturday afternoon, approximately 36 hours after the disaster.

The deceased were identified as Mohindra Pal and Jitendra Singh from Himachal Pradesh, Manjeet Yadav from Uttar Pradesh, and Alok Yadav from Uttarakhand. The missing workers include Harmesh Chand from Himachal, Ashok from Uttar Pradesh, and Anil Kumar and Arvind Kumar Singh from Uttarakhand.

The workers hailed from various states, including Bihar (14), Uttarakhand (11), Uttar Pradesh (11), Himachal Pradesh (7), Jammu & Kashmir (1), Punjab (1), and Nepal (10).

Among the survivors, 29 were airlifted from Mana and Badrinath to Jyotirmath and are receiving treatment at an Army hospital. One worker managed to escape independently and reached his home in Himachal Pradesh by Saturday evening, sources said.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami stated that while workers were rescued from five containers, three remain buried under heavy snow. The Army and ITBP are intensifying efforts to locate these containers, where the missing workers are believed to be trapped. A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) dog squad has been airlifted to aid in the search, and a ground penetration radar is being transported from Delhi to detect buried structures.

Nearly 200 personnel from multiple agencies—including the Army, ITBP, BRO, NDRF, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), district administration, police, health department, and fire services—are engaged in the ongoing rescue operation.