Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that the government’s priority is to safely evacuate the people trapped under an avalanche in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. In a social media post, Mr. Shah said he spoke with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police, and the Director General of the National Disaster Response Force.

He said the local administration is fully engaged in rescue operations with utmost urgency, and two NDRF teams are also reaching the incident site soon. According to the Indian Army, a BRO labour camp, located between Mana and Badrinath, was struck by an avalanche, burying 57 workers inside eight containers and one shed.