Pope Francis and Indian bishops have expressed grief over a massive glacier burst that killed at least 32 people in northern India.
The tragedy in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on Feb. 7 also left more than 170 missing as the rescue operation carried on until late on Feb. 10, media reports said.
“I express my closeness to the victims of the calamity that happened in India where part of a glacier separated itself, provoking violent flooding that devastated two power plants,” Pope Francis said in a tweet on Feb. 10.
“I pray for the workers who died, for their families and for all those who were wounded.”
Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), said on Feb. 9 that the CBCI expresses its grief and offers its condolences to the family members of all those who have died or are missing as a result of the Uttarakhand glacier calamity.