LUCKNOW, India (AP) – Indian authorities launched a search operation on Sunday after part of the mountain glacier erupted, sending a massive flood of water and debris that hit two dams and damaged a number of houses . At least three people were killed and 140 missing.
The flood was caused when a portion of the Nanda Devi Glacier in the Tapovan area of the northern state of Uttarakhand broke on Sunday morning. A video shared by officials and taken from the steep part of the hill shows a wall of water rising into one of the dams and breaking it to pieces with little resistance before continuing to howl downstream.
The Rishiganga hydropower plant was destroyed, while the Dhauliganga hydropower plant was damaged, said Vivek Pandey, a spokesman for the Indo-Tibetan Border Paramilitary Police.
Pandey said three bodies were recovered near a tunnel at the Dhauliganga project, where at least 16 workers were trapped. Another 140 workers at the two factories were missing, he said.
Ravi Bejaria, a government spokesman, said some houses were also damaged by the floods.
Officials said that when the glacier broke, it sent water trapped behind it, as well as mud and other debris that rose on the mountain and into other bodies of water. A notice was issued urging people living on the banks of the Alaknanda River to move to safer places immediately.
Several rescue teams rushed to the affected area, officials said.
The Himalayas have a chain of energy projects on the Alknanda River and its tributaries.
In 2013, thousands of people were killed in Uttarakhand after heavy rains triggered landslides and floods, washed away thousands of homes and roads and severed communications in many parts of the state.
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This story has been corrected to show that the authorities launched their search operation on Sunday, not Saturday.