New Delhi, Feb. 28 -- Of the 57 trapped Border Roads Organisation (BRO) construction workers, 16 have been rescued till now, after a massive avalanche struck near Mana village in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said on Friday.

NDRF Director General Piyush Anand said their focus was to evacuate the maximum number of people. He added that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has been monitoring the operation closely and has given directions to save every life.

"16 people have been evacuated. Four teams of NDRF have been mobilised. Our focus is on rescuing a maximum number of people. The Union Home Minister has been monitoring the operation closely. He has spoken to DG ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police) ...