8 dead in India avalanche as rescue operation ends

Rescuers recovered the eighth and final body from the site of an avalanche in a remote area of northern India, the army said on Sunday, marking the end of a marathon operation in sub-zero temperatures.

More 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.

Authorities 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.

Relief teams managed to rescue 50 workers, but among them four later died of their injuries.

Construction worker Anil, who only gave his first name, recalled his rescue hours after being buried by the avalanche.

“It was if God’s angels had come to save us,” Anil, who is his late 20s, said on Sunday by phone from his hospital bed.