GLACIER BREAKS IN INDIA; FLOODS KILL 9, WITH 140 STILL MISSING

Indian authorities launched a search operation Sunday after part of a mountain glacier broke, sending a massive flood of water and debris slamming into two dams and damaging a number of homes. At least nine people were killed and 140 were missing, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The flood was caused when a portion of Nanda Devi glacier broke off in Tapovan area of the northern state of Uttarakhand on Sunday morning. A video shared by officials and taken from the side of steep hillside shows a wall of water surging into one of the dams and breaking it into pieces with little resistance before continuing to roar downstream.

The Rishiganga hydropower plant was destroyed, while the Dhauliganga hydropower was damaged, said Vivek Pandey, a spokesman for paramilitary Indo Tibetan Border Police.

Both are on the Alaknanda River, which flows from the Himalayan mountains to the Ganges River.

Pandey said at least 16 workers were trapped near a tunnel at the Dhauliganga project.

Another 140 workers at the two plants were missing, he said. Surjeet Singh, a police official, said nine bodies were recovered so far amid intensified rescue operations. Ravi Bejaria, a government spokesman, said some houses were also damaged in the flooding.

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