[Today’s Prayer] Avalanche in Indian Himalayas: 46 of 55 trapped rescued

46 people were rescued and saved from a large-scale avalanche in the northern Himalayan region of India that buried 55 people, but 4 have died and 5 are still missing.

According to AP and AFP on the 2nd (local time), an avalanche caused by heavy snowfall in the Chamoli area of Uttarakhand, bordering China's Tibet Autonomous Region, buried 55 construction workers at a local highway construction site on the 28th of last month, and a search operation was conducted thereafter.

Rescue teams later found 50 people, but 4 of them eventually died from their injuries, the Indian military said. It added that 5 workers are still missing and that 6 helicopters have been deployed to search because the road is blocked.

The victims were migrant workers who were working on expanding and paving a 50km section of the highway from Mana, the last village on the Indian side, to Mana Pass on the border with China.

The Indian Army, along with the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force, deployed about 150 soldiers to the site to carry out rescue operations since the 28th, the day of the incident. The India Meteorological Department issued an alert saying that up to 200mm of rain or snow is expected until tonight in several highland areas including Uttarakhand, and warned that this could lead to flooding and road closures.

Gaurav Kunwar, who worked in the local assembly, told the BBC, “(The area) is uninhabited, and only border road workers stay there in winter. It had been raining for two days, and I heard that the workers were in their quarters when the avalanche struck.”

Meanwhile, the area where the accident occurred this time is just 5km from the popular Hindu temple, Badrinath Temple, which is visited by hundreds of thousands of devotees every year.

Source: Edaily

Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:20-21)

We hear the sad news that a massive avalanche in the northern Himalayas of India has killed four of the construction workers who were working on a highway expansion project, and a fifth is still missing.

Please comfort the families of the four construction workers killed in the avalanche with Your love, so that they may hear the gospel of the cross and come to know Jesus Christ, who leads them to the eternal kingdom of God!

We also pray that You will quickly find the five missing workers and bring them back to their families. May You hear the prayers of their anxiously awaiting families, and may Your grace, the Giver of life, keep them in one body and soul.

Lead the Churches in India to share the gospel and the hardships faced by those who have left their homes as migrant workers to earn a living at the site, so that the love of the living God may be among the construction workers and their families.

As the site is still under heavy snow and heavy rains, making rescue difficult, including flooding and road closures, we ask for Your protection and for the safety of the Indian soldiers conducting the search. The Badrinath Hindu temple, which is visited by hundreds of thousands of devotees every year, is located near the area where the accident occurred. Please protect the safety of the Indian souls who pass by the site on their way to the temple, and may this incident inspire the Indian people to rise up as a people who seek Your righteousness and Your nation according to Your Word, instead of chasing after false idols that require them to risk their lives to reach the temple!

May the Church of India be a missionary church, spreading Your gospel and expanding Your kingdom! May the Church of India send forth a million Indian armies, carrying the cross along the Asian Highway to Jerusalem!

Let the Indian people rise up as a nation of priests, holding the hands of the nations and preparing the way for Your coming!