Uttarakhand disaster: 53 bodies recovered, rescue operation continues at Tapovan tunnel As the rescue operation continues, a helicopter has been kept ready at the Tapovan tunnel site to provide medical help to possible survivors. February 15, 2021 / 09:12 AM IST File image: Rescue workers look for survivors inside the Tapovan tunnel after the sudden collapse of a Himalayan glacier. (Image: AP) A total of 53 bodies have so far been recovered from the Tapovan Tunnel in Chamoli district’s Joshimath, news agency ANI cited Uttarakhand’s State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) as saying. This came following an eight-day operation to rescue around 30 people feared trapped in the tunnel after a flashflood-hit Chamoli district’s Joshimath area on February 7. On February 14, the authority had said that 41 bodies had been recovered. The flash flood may have been possibly triggered by an avalanche in the upper reaches of the Alaknanda river system.