DEHRADUN
\nThe death toll from an avalanche in northern India climbed to seven on Sunday as survivors recalled their dramatic rescue after hours buried under the snow and debris.
\nRescuers recovered three bodies and were looking for the last remaining person still missing, the army said.
\nMore than 50 workers were submerged under snow and debris after the avalanche hit a construction camp on Friday near Mana village on the border with Tibet in the northern Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.
\nAuthorities revised down the number of workers on site at the time of the avalanche from 55 to 54 after one worker, previously believed to be buried, was found to have safely made his way home before the avalanche hit.
\nRelief teams managed to rescue 50 workers, but among them four later died of their injuries.
\nConstruction worker Anil, who only gave his first name, recalled his rescue hours after being buried by the avalanche.
\n\u201cIt was if God\u2019s angels had come to save us,\u201d Anil, who is in his late 20s, told AFP on Sunday by phone from his hospital bed.
\n\u201cThe way we were engulfed in snow, we had no hope of surviving.\u201d
\nBeing alive now felt \u201clike a dream,\u201d he said.
\nThe army said it had airlifted a drone-based detection system to assist in its search operations.
\nMultiple drones and a rescue dog were also being employed.
\nWorking on a project by the Border Roads Organization, the workers were living on site in steel containers considered stronger than tents and capable of withstanding harsh weather.
\nAnil said many workers were fast asleep and a few others were in makeshift toilets when the avalanche struck around 6:00 am Friday.
\nAs the ground beneath them shook, the container in which Anil and his colleagues were in began to slide down.
\n\u201cAt first we did not understand what was happening but when we looked out of the window of the containers, we saw piles of snow all around,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThe roof of the containers was also slowly bending inwards.\u201d
\nEveryone started screaming for help and a few men were lucky to get out of their containers.
\n\u201cBut not all of them made it out and they remained trapped,\u201d he said.
\nHis colleague Vipin Kumar thought \u201cthis was the end\u201d when he found himself unable to move as he struggled for air under the thick layer of snow.
\n\u201cI heard a loud roar, like thunder … before I could react, everything went dark,\u201d he told the Times of India newspaper.
\nAt an altitude of more than 3,200 meters (10,500 feet), minimum temperatures in the area were down to minus 12 degrees Celsius (10 degrees Fahrenheit).
\nDhan Singh Bisht said his son and nephew were alive only because of the prompt action by the relief teams.
\n\u201cI am grateful to them,\u201d an overwhelmed Bisht told AFP by phone on Saturday.
\nAvalanches and landslides are common in the upper reaches of the Himalayas, especially during the winter season.
\nScientists say climate change is making weather events more severe, while the increased pace of development in the fragile Himalayan regions has also heightened fears about the fallout from deforestation and construction.
\nIn 2021, nearly 100 people died in Uttarakhand after a huge glacier chunk fell into a river, triggering flash floods.
\nAnd devastating monsoon floods and landslides in 2013 killed 6,000 people and led to calls for a review of development projects in the state.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DEHRADUN The death toll from an avalanche in northern India climbed to seven on Sunday as survivors recalled their dramatic rescue after hours buried under the snow and debris. Rescuers recovered three bodies and were looking for the last remaining person still missing, the army said. More than 50 workers were submerged under snow and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":464844,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-464816","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n