Avalanche survivor airlifted to Rishikesh, family waits anxiously

The worker's brother, Pankaj Kumar, shared the ordeal, revealing that his brother is currently undergoing treatment in Rishikesh.

Pankaj Kumar stated that his brother, who was responsible for servicing trucks in the area, had been left with severe injuries.

Speaking to ANI, Pankaj said, "The doctor has said that he will need to be operated on. He can't feel his legs," Pankaj Kumar said, expressing concern for his brother's well-being.

The family is anxiously waiting for the operation, with Pankaj Kumar revealing that doctors have assured them of a positive outcome. "Doctors say that he will be fine, but he needs to be operated on... The family is worried. Doctors are cooperating with us."

Pankaj Kumar last spoke to his brother on February 18, before the avalanche struck. The incident has left the family shaken, and they are now praying for the worker's speedy recovery.

Meanwhile, the Indian Army on Sunday said that three more bodies had been recovered and that one worker continued to be missing after the avalanche hit the site of a Border Roads Organisation (BRO) project in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Friday.

With this, the death toll in the incident has gone up to seven. Four workers died on Saturday.

Bodies of BRO workers retrieved from the avalanche site airlifted today and brought to Joshimath military hospitalThere were 54 workers at the site when the avalanche struck early on the morning of February 28.

The Army, ITBP, Air Force, NDRF, and SDRF personnel have been participating in the rescue operations for the past two days.

In Dehradun, PRO Defence Lt Colonel Manish Shrivastava told ANI, "...Three bodies were recovered today and brought to Mana and now sent to Joshimath... We hope we will rescue the remaining one soon."

The SDRF team searched the site with victim-locating and thermal image cameras to find the remaining workers. Earlier today, a Drone-Based Intelligent Buried Object Detection System was brought to Joshimath, from where it reached the avalanche site in Mana to assist in the search operations.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences Rishikesh Public Relations Official, Sandeep Singh, said today, "...The patient who has been airlifted here is Pawan Kumar. He has a pelvic injury and has been brought here for further treatment. Yesterday, Ashok Kumar was brought with a spinal injury and due to that injury, his legs are not working, and he has to undergo surgery there. If his test reports are fine, then his surgery will be done today..."

The AIIMS Rishikesh official said, "Five people were scheduled to be brought here, but later we learned that four would be brought here. Other patients are being examined at the base hospital."

Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman had earlier said that the weather supported the search and rescue operations.

"A total of 54 (BRO workers) were missing, 50 have been rescued, and four people have lost their lives. Four people are still missing, and a search and rescue operation is going on, and we hope that we will find them soon."The Army's Lt Gen Anindya Sengupta, GOC-in-C, Central Command and Lt Gen DG Misra, GOC Uttar Bharat Area had visited the avalanche site at Mana yesterday to oversee, review and coordinate the search and rescue operations.

Lt.Gen Sengupta said that specialized recco radars, UAVs, quadcopters, avalanche rescue dogs, etc, were pressed into service to locate the survivors. Helicopters are also operating continuously for staging forward essential equipment, resources and evacuation of the injured," he said. (ANI)