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Rohit Sharma warned his India team Monday to expect “fightbacks” and “nervy times” against Australia in the Champions Trophy last four in a rematch of the 2023 ODI World Cup final.India hammered New Zealand by 44 runs Sunday to be unbeaten in three matches and top Group A of the 50-over tournament played in Dubai and Pakistan.They next face the Steve Smith-led Australia on Tuesday in Dubai for a place in the final of the eight-nation event.Australia beat Ashes rivals England by five wickets in their opening match but their next two games were abandoned because of rain.They are also missing several key players, but the Australians have a reputation for raising their game when it matters and beat hosts India in the World Cup final, the last time the two countries played an ODI.”Look, it is a great opposition to play against,” skipper Rohit told reporters.”All we have to do is what we have been thinking about the last three games and we have to approach that game in a similar fashion.”We understand the opposition and how they play and stuff like that.”Australia are on paper a weaker team from the one that beat India by six wickets in Ahmedabad in November 2023.The world champions lost fast bowlers Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood to ankle and hip injuries respectively for the Champions Trophy.They are also without Mitchell Starc, who is out for personal reasons.Mitchell Marsh is also absent with an injury and Marcus Stoinis announced his retirement on the eve of the tournament.”Look, Australia have been such a great team over the years,” said Rohit.”So we will expect some fightbacks, we will expect some nervy times as well in the middle. “But that is how the game is being played these days. And you are talking about a semi-final.”- ‘Dubai not home’ -India went in with four spinners including two all-rounders in their last group match in Dubai and came up trumps with Varun Chakravarthy returning figures of 5-42.Rohit said he will be tempted to keep the same combination against Australia.”He just showed what he is capable of,” Rohit said of man of the match Chakravarthy, a wrist spinner with many variations up his sleeve. “Now it is up to us to think and see how we can get that combination right. He did everything that was asked for… it is a good headache to have.”India have been slammed for playing all their matches at one venue, in Dubai, while other teams shuttle between three Pakistani cities and the UAE.India refused to play in tournament hosts Pakistan because of political tension.Rohit dismissed the notion it gives India an advantage.”Even for us it is a little bit of a question mark as to which pitch is being played,” said Rohit.”Because there are four or five surfaces that are being used here. I don’t know which pitch is going to be played in the semi-finals.”But whatever happens we will have to adapt and see what is happening and what is not. And this is not our home, this is Dubai.”

“Dram”, meaning a measure of whisky. “Turm”, describing a cavalry unit. “Taupie”, a foolish youngster.Not words in a typical teen’s vocabulary, but all come easily to Pakistani prodigy Bilal Asher, world under-14 Scrabble champion.Despite a musty reputation, the word-spelling game has a cult youth following in Pakistan, a legacy of the English languageimposed by Britain’s empire but which the country has adapted into its own dialect since independence.In the eccentric field of competitive Scrabble, Pakistan’s youngsters reign supreme — boasting the current youth world champion and more past victors than any other nation since the tournament debuted in 2006.”It requires a lot of hard work and determination,” said 13-year-old Asher after vanquishing a grey-bearded opponent.”You have to trust the process for a very long time, and then gradually it will show the results.”- ‘English in taste’ -Karachi, a megacity shrugging off its old definition as a den of violent crime, is Pakistan’s incubator for talent in Scrabble — where players spell words linked like a crossword with random lettered tiles.Schools in the southern port metropolis organise tutorials with professional Scrabble coaches and grant scholarships to top players, while parents push their kids to become virtuosos.”They inculcate you in this game,” says Asher, one of around 100 players thronging a hotel function room for a Pakistan Scrabble Association (PSA) event as most of the city dozed through a Sunday morning.Daunters (meaning intimidating people), imarets (inns for pilgrims) and trienes (chemical compounds containing three double bonds) are spelled out by ranks of seated opponents.Some are so young their feet don’t touch the ground, as they use chess clocks to time their turns.”They’re so interested because the parents are interested,” said 16-year-old Affan Salman, who became the world youth Scrabble champion in Sri Lanka last year.”They want their children to do productive things — Scrabble is a productive game.”English was foisted onthe Indian subcontinent by Britain’s colonialism and an 1835 order from London started to systematise it as the main language of education.The plan’s architect, Thomas Macaulay, said the aim was to produce “a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals and in intellect”. It was instrumental in creating a colonial civil service to rule for Britain according to Kaleem Raza Khan, who teaches English at Karachi’s Salim Habib University.”They started teaching English because they wanted to create a class of people, Indian people, who would be in the middle of the people and the rulers,” said Khan, whose wife and daughter are Scrabble devotees.British rule ended in the bloody partition of 1947 creating India and Pakistan.Today there are upwards of 70 languages spoken in Pakistan, but English remains an official state language alongside the lingua franca Urdu, and they mingle in daily usage.Schools often still teach English with verbose colonial-era textbooks.”The adaptation of English as the main language is definitely a relation to the colonial era,” PSA youth programme director Tariq Pervez. “That is our main link”.- ‘Language of learning’ -The English of Pakistani officialdom remains steeped in anachronistic words. The prime minister describes militant attacks as “dastardly”, state media dubs protesters “miscreants” and the military denounces its “nefarious” adversaries.Becoming fluent in the loquacious lingo of Pakistani English remains aspirational because of its association to the upper echelons.In Pakistan more than a third of children between the ages of five and 16 are out of school — a total of nearly 26 million, according to the 2023 census.Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared an “education emergency” last year to address the stark figures.”People are interested in Scrabble because they can get opportunities for scholarships in universities or for jobs because it provides the vocab,” said Asher’s sister Manaal.But the 14-year-old reigning female number one in Pakistan warned: “You’ve got to be resilient otherwise Scrabble isn’t right for you.”In the Karachi hotel, Scrabble — invented in the 1930s during America’s Great Depression by an unemployed architect — is an informal training programme for success in later life.”The main language of learning is English,” said Pervez.”This game has a great pull,” he added. “The demand is so big. So many kids want to play, we don’t have enough resources to accommodate all of them.”At the youngest level the vocabulary of the players is more rudimentary: toy, tiger, jar, oink.But professional Scrabble coach Waseem Khatri earns 250,000 rupees ($880) a month — nearly seven times the minimum wage — coaching some 6,000 students across Karachi’s school system to up their game.In Pakistani English parlance “they try to express things in a more beautiful way — in a long way to express their feelings,” said 36-year-old Khatri.”We try to utilise those words also in Scrabble.”But when Asher wins he is overwhelmed with joy, and those long words don’t come so easily.”I cannot describe the feeling,” he says.

It flaps its ears and squirts water from a waving trunk, but this elephant is a life-size mechanical replica rolled out to replace the endangered animals in India’s Hindu temples.Made of fibreglass and rubber, and trundling on a wheeled metal frame strong enough to hold a rider, the model is one of dozens that animal rights campaigners are trumpeting as an alternative to keeping elephants in captivity in India.Elephants are used during many Hindu temple ceremonies, paraded through packed crowds with flashing lights, thumping drums and ear-splitting music.Deadly attacks by panicked pachyderms are common.”It is a wild animal, it likes to live in jungles,” said C.G. Prakash, 68, a former official at the popular Chakkamparambu Bhagavathy temple in India’s southern Kerala state.”We are capturing it and torturing it. It’s totally unethical”. Prakash was instrumental in bringing the robot elephant to the temple.It was donated by the Voice for Asian Elephants Society, which said it would aid “cruelty-free temple traditions”.- ‘Remain with their families’ -Campaigners from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India say the more than 2,700 captive elephants in the country often face “severe physical and psychological stress”.Despite being herd animals, they are often kept alone and chained up for much of the day.PETA has funded more than a dozen models since 2023, donated on the condition that temples move their elephants to approved sanctuaries.”Mechanical elephants help retain age-old traditions in a modern way,” said PETA’s Khushboo Gupta. “They help ensure real elephants can remain with their families in their natural jungle habitats”.Like the real thing, models are draped with a golden headdress and bedecked with flower garlands.Modelmakers say a luxury version — complete with electric motors powering a nodding head, rolling eyes and a lifelike swishing tail — can cost more than $5,500.Professional model maker Prasanth Prakasan, 42, said he and three friends began making elephant models as an art project, but are pleased they are now helping protect real animals.”What we are doing is saving elephants, and we are happy about it,” he said.The team has made nearly 50 such elephants — with a production line at the workshop building several more.For those keen on an elephant at their wedding, models can be rented without the cumbersome permits required for a costly real one, he pointed out.- ‘Exploited’ -Accidents involving spooked elephants trampling crowds are common and some temples switching to models cite the safety of their worshippers.In February alone, PETA recorded incidents in Kerala involving nine captive elephants losing control, with five people killed.In one, an elephant at a festival was spooked by fireworks, jabbed its companion with a tusk and triggered a stampede that killed three people and injured dozens.”Those who take care of them, many don’t follow the rules”, said V.K. Venkitachalam, 60, from the Heritage Animal Task Force rights group.Animal welfare is also gaining growing attention.In November, Kerala’s High Court issued guidelines for the better treatment of captive elephants.”Their use is often sought to be justified on the touchstone of tradition and religious practice,” the court wrote.But “animals are being commercially exploited without any care or concern for their well-being”, it said.The guidelines were later stayed by the Supreme Court saying guidelines were impractical.- ‘Non-violence’ -There are fewer than 50,000 Asian elephants in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund, the majority in India, with others in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.The species is endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.As elephant habitats shrink, conflict between humans and wild elephants has grown — 629 people were killed by elephants across India in 2023-2024, according to parliamentary figures.Over the same period, 121 elephants were killed — the vast majority by powerful electric fences, as well as by poaching, poisoning, and being hit by trains.For animal rights activists, the model elephants are a safe solution that fits with religious principles.”This initiative honours ahimsa, or non-violence, a tenet of Hinduism”, PETA’s Gupta told AFP.Among some worshippers, the placid models are a relief.”When it is a live elephant, there’s a fear amongst us. What if it runs amok?” 58-year-old teacher Jayasree Sivaraman Narayaneeya said.”Since it’s a robotic elephant, we feel much safer.”

Spinner Varun Chakravarthy on Sunday became a “good headache” for India ahead of their Champions Trophy semi-final against Australia after his match-winning five-wicket haul against New Zealand, said captain Rohit Sharma.Mystery spinner Chakravarthy returned figures of 5-42 in Dubai to help India beat New Zealand in their last group match of the 50-over tournament.His recent 14 wickets in a 4-1 T20 series win over England at home got Chakravarthy back into the India reckoning in the white-ball formats and he was a last-minute addition to the Champions Trophy squad.After being left out for the first two games, Chakravarthy made the team in India’s last group match and was named player of the match in just his second ODI after his debut against England last month.India face Australia in the first semi-final in Dubai on Tuesday.”Varun has got something different, wanted to try and see what he had to offer,” said Rohit. “We got to think a little about what to do for the next game, good headache.”Chakravarthy went wicketless in three matches in Dubai during the 2021 T20 World Cup, but put that disappointment behind him in style.”The first spell of mine I was little nervous because the previous things, the emotions and all were playing whatever happened in the last three years before in this ground,” the 33-year-old Chakravarthy told reporters.”Where little bit it was playing with me and I was trying to keep it down, control it. But Virat (Kohli), Rohit (Sharma) and even Hardik (Pandya), they were telling (me to) calm down. That really helped.”Chakravarthy made his mark in the Indian Premier League for Kolkata Knight Riders, playing a key part in the team’s title win last year.A wily bowler with lot of variations up his sleeve, Chakravarthy gets the ball to spin both ways.He also varies his pace to make life difficult for the opposition, a trait with which he bamboozled the New Zealand batsmen including Will Young, who he bowled for 22.- Praise from Henry -“It is the patience game,” Chakravarthy said on bowling in ODIs.”You just need to wait it out… on such slow wickets… the ball doesn’t turn fast, it turns slow. So, you need to wait it out and it just happens, if it’s your day it happens to you.”A late starter in professional cricket, Chakravarthy harboured other dreams before he took up the sport and made his international debut at nearly 30 years of age.”After 26 is when I started dreaming about cricket,” said Chakravarthy. “Before that, my dreams were all being an architect and making movies.”He added, “So, I’ve had different career paths. And all those things are happening. So yeah, it’s been good right now.”New Zealand pace bowler Matt Henry also took 5-42, albeit in a losing cause.”He bowled beautifully, didn’t he?,” Henry said of Chakravarthy.”I think he showed his skill tonight, the way he turned the ball both ways, and even the way that he could bowl pace. I thought he was brilliant, and yeah, that they were able to put us under pressure right throughout.”New Zealand will take on Group B winners South Africa in Lahore on Wednesday and Henry said they are “excited” to face the best teams.

Spinner Varun Chakravarthy returned figures of 5-42 as India beat New Zealand by 44 runs on Sunday to set up a semi-final clash with Australia in the Champions Trophy.India won all three of their group matches to top Group A and will play the first semi-final of the 50-over tournament in Dubai on Tuesday.”Important to finish on a high,” India skipper Rohit Sharma said after the win.”New Zealand are a good team who are playing some good cricket. Very important to get a good result, we played a perfect game.”New Zealand will take on Group B winners South Africa in Lahore on Wednesday in the second semi-final.India are playing all their matches at the Dubai International Stadium after they refused to tour hosts Pakistan, citing security concerns.Rohit’s team lost the 2023 ODI World Cup final to Australia in Ahmedabad.”Australia has a rich history of playing ICC tournaments well, but it is about us and what we want to do well on that particular day,” said Rohit.”It will be a great contest, looking forward to that. Hopefully we can stitch one towards us.”Australia and South Africa had to travel to Dubai from Pakistan despite not knowing if they would be playing there, as India were told ahead of the tournament they would play the first semi-final if they qualified no matter where they finished in the group.South Africa will now have to fly back to Pakistan ahead of their meeting with New Zealand.Shreyas Iyer’s 79 and a late 45 by Hardik Pandya steered India to 249-9 after being invited to bat first.New Zealand pace bowler Matt Henry stood out with figures of 5-42 from his eight overs.”The key for us was getting wickets in the powerplay, and that was good to see,” New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said. “Our next game is in Lahore where Henry will be massive.”- Airborne Phillips -Player of the match Chakravarthy took his first ODI five-wicket haul in just his second match as India bowled out New Zealand for 205 in 45.3 overs despite a valiant 81 by Kane Williamson.Williamson survived two dropped catches on 17 and 68 in his 120-ball knock before he finally fell, stumped off Axar Patel.New Zealand lost Rachin Ravindra early as Patel took a superb catch to dismiss the opener for six.Chakravarthy cut short Will Young’s innings on 22 when he bowled him with a googly.Williamson stood firm but could not find a long-term partner as Daryl Mitchell and Tom Latham were dismissed for 17 and 14 respectively.India’s spinners dominated in helpful conditions, as Kuldeep Yadav sent back Mitchell and Ravindra Jadeja trapped Latham lbw.In between the two wickets, Williamson hit Jadeja for a boundary to raise his 47th ODI half-century but India kept taking wickets.Earlier, India were in trouble at 30-3 when Virat Kohli, playing in his 300th one-day international, fell victim to a stunning one-handed catch from Glenn Phillips.An airborne Phillips clung on to a fast-travelling ball at backward point to dimiss Kohli for 11 off Henry.Kohli was left standing in disbelief before trudging off the ground to stunned silence.Iyer and Patel, who made 42, put on 98 for the fourth wicket to rebuild the innings against a disciplined New Zealand attack.Another stunning catch, this time by Williamson, who flung himself to his left at backward point to make a one-handed grab close to the ground, dismissed Jadeja for 16 off Henry.Pandya struck four fours and two sixes in his run-a-ball innings to give India a total which proved to be enough.

Spinner Varun Chakravarthy returned figures of 5-42 as India beat New Zealand by 44 runs on Sunday to set up a semi-final clash with Australia in the Champions Trophy.India won all three of their group matches to top Group A and will play the first semi-final of the 50-over tournament in Dubai on Tuesday.New Zealand will take on Group B winners South Africa in Lahore on Wednesday.India are playing all their matches at the Dubai International Stadium after they refused to tour hosts Pakistan due to security reasons.Australia and South Africa had to travel to Dubai from Pakistan despite not knowing if they would be playing there, as India were told ahead of the tournament they would play the first semi-final if they qualified no matter where they finished in the group.South Africa will now have to fly back to Pakistan ahead of their meeting with New Zealand.Shreyas Iyer’s 79 and a late 45 by Hardik Pandya steered India to 249-9 after being invited to bat first.New Zealand pace bowler Matt Henry stood out with figures of 5-42 from his eight overs.Chakravarthy took his first ODI five-wicket haul in just his second match as India bowled out New Zealand for 205 in 45.3 overs despite a valiant 81 by Kane Williamson.Williamson survived two dropped catches on 17 and 68 in his 120-ball knock before he finally fell, stumped off Axar Patel.New Zealand lost Rachin Ravindra early as Patel took a superb catch to dismiss the opener for six.Chakravarthy cut short Will Young’s innings on 22 when he bowled him with a googly.Williamson stood firm but could not find a long-term partner as Daryl Mitchell and Tom Latham were dismissed for 17 and 14 respectively.India’s spinners dominated in helpful conditions, as Kuldeep Yadav sent back Mitchell and Ravindra Jadeja trapped Latham lbw.In between the two wickets, Williamson hit Jadeja for a boundary to raise his 47th ODI half-century but India kept taking wickets.Earlier, India were in trouble at 30-3 when Virat Kohli, playing in his 300th one-day international, fell victim to a stunning one-handed catch from Glenn Phillips.An airborne Phillips clung on to a fast-travelling ball at backward point to dimiss Kohli for 11 off Henry.Kohli was left standing in disbelief before trudging off the ground to stunned silence.Iyer and Patel, who made 42, put on 98 for the fourth wicket to rebuild the innings against a disciplined New Zealand attack.Another stunning catch, this time by Williamson, who flung himself to his left at backward point to make a one-handed grab close to the ground, dismissed Jadeja for 16 off Henry.Pandya struck four fours and two sixes in his run-a-ball innings to give India a total which proved to be enough.

A gritty 79 by Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya’s late blitz helped India reach 249-9 against New Zealand in the final group match of the Champions Trophy on Sunday.To do so, they had to defy some outstanding pace bowling from Matt Henry who returned figures of 5-42 — his third five-wicket haul in ODIs — from his eight overs and some breathtaking fielding.Invited to bat first in Dubai, India were in trouble at 30-3 when Virat Kohli, playing in his 300th one-day international, departed off a stunning one-handed catch from Glenn Phillips.Iyer and left-handed Axar Patel, who made 42, put on 98 for the fourth wicket to rebuild the innings against a disciplined New Zealand attack.Pandya hit a run-a-ball 45 as he smashed four fours and two sixes to boost the total on a sluggish pitch.The winner of the match will play Australia in the semi-final, with the loser taking on South Africa.Irrespective of the placing and opponent, India will play the first semi-final in Dubai on Tuesday after they refused to travel to hosts Pakistan because of political tensions.New Zealand will leave for Lahore after the match, with the second semi-final to be played at the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday.Henry struck the first blow to have the in-form Shubman Gill — India’s top batsman with 149 runs in three matches of the 50-over tournament — trapped lbw for two.Skipper Rohit Sharma was the next to depart when he mistimed a pull off Kyle Jamieson to be caught at square leg and in walk Kohli to a huge roar.The joy was shortlived as an airborne Phillips clung on to a travelling ball at backward point to dimiss Kohli for 11 off 14 balls off Henry.The fielder went full stretch to his right on a hard slash by Kohli, who stood in disbelief before trudging off the ground to stunned silence in his landmark match.Iyer and Patel attempted to take the attack to the opposition as New Zealand rotated their spin options. Left-arm spinner Rachin Ravindra broke the stand when he dismissed Patel, caught by Kane Williamson at short fine leg.KL Rahul (23) offered solid support in a partnership of 44 but Iyer’s fine knock finally came to an end when he top-edged a short ball from Will O’Rourke to Will Young at short midwicket.One more stunning catch, this time by Williamson who flung himself to his left at backward point to make a one-handed grab close to the ground, broke another partnership as Ravindra Jadeja fell for 16 off Henry.Pandya smashed the bowlers in the final few overs before Henry got him out, following up with the scalp of Mohammed Shami off the final ball. 

Rescuers recovered the eighth and final body from the site of an avalanche in a remote area of northern India, the army said Sunday, marking the end of a marathon operation in sub-zero temperatures.More than 50 workers were submerged under snow and debris after the avalanche hit a construction camp on Friday near Mana village on the border with Tibet in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.Authorities had revised down the number of workers on site at the time of the avalanche from 55 to 54 after one worker, previously believed to be buried, was found to have safely made his way home before the avalanche hit.The army used drone-based detection system to assist in its search operations. Multiple drones and a rescue dog were also employed.Construction worker Anil, who only gave his first name, recalled his rescue hours after being buried by the avalanche.”It was if God’s angels had come to save us,” Anil, who is in his late 20s, told AFP on Sunday by phone from his hospital bed.”The way we were engulfed in snow, we had no hope of surviving.” Being alive now felt “like a dream”, he said.- ‘Not all made it’ -Working on a project by the Border Roads Organisation, the workers were living on site in steel containers considered stronger than tents and capable of withstanding harsh weather. Anil said many workers were fast asleep and a few others were in makeshift toilets when the avalanche struck around 6:00 am Friday.As the ground beneath them shook, the container in which Anil and his colleagues were in began to slide down.”At first we did not understand what was happening but when we looked out of the window of the containers, we saw piles of snow all around,” he said. “The roof of the containers was also slowly bending inwards.”Everyone started screaming for help and a few men were lucky to get out of their containers.”But not all of them made it out and they remained trapped,” he said.- ‘Like thunder’ -His colleague Vipan Kumar thought “this was the end” when he found himself unable to move as he struggled for air under the thick layer of snow.”I heard a loud roar, like thunder … before I could react, everything went dark,” he told the Times of India newspaper.At an altitude of more than 3,200 metres (10,500 feet), minimum temperatures in the area were down to minus 12 degrees Celsius (10 degrees Fahrenheit).Dhan Singh Bisht said his son and nephew were alive only because of the prompt action by the relief teams.”I am grateful to them,” an overwhelmed Bisht told AFP by phone on Saturday.Avalanches and landslides are common in the upper reaches of the Himalayas, especially during the winter season.Scientists say climate change is making weather events more severe, while the increased pace of development in the fragile Himalayan regions has also heightened fears about the fallout from deforestation and construction.In 2021, nearly 100 people died in Uttarakhand after a huge glacier chunk fell into a river, triggering flash floods. And devastating monsoon floods and landslides in 2013 killed 6,000 people and led to calls for a review of development projects in the state. 

New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips pulled off a stunning catch to dismiss India great Virat Kohli in the batsman’s landmark 300th ODI in the final group match of the Champions Trophy on Sunday.Kohli fell for 11 off 14 balls after New Zealand invited India to bat first in Dubai with the result of the match to decide the semi-final line-up of the 50-over tournament.But it was Phillips’ fielding marvel that brought the match alive as he dived full stretch to his right at backward point and held on to the ball travelling at a fast pace from Kohli’s bat off fast bowler Matt Henry.Kohli, 36, stood in disbelief for a few seconds before trudging back to the pavilion as the fans went silent.Social media, however, was soon abuzz with reactions to the catch: “The Superman of the tournament”, wrote one fan on X.The winner of the match will play Australia in the semi-final, with the loser taking on South Africa.Irrespective of the placing and opponent, India will play the first semi-final in Dubai on Tuesday after they refused to travel to hosts Pakistan because of political tensions.New Zealand will leave for Lahore after the match, with the second semi-final to be played at the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday.

The death toll from an avalanche in northern India climbed to seven on Sunday as survivors recalled their dramatic rescue after hours buried under the snow and debris.Rescuers recovered three bodies and were looking for the last remaining person still missing, the army said.More than 50 workers were submerged under snow and debris after the avalanche hit a construction camp on Friday near Mana village on the border with Tibet in the northern Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.Authorities revised down the number of workers on site at the time of the avalanche from 55 to 54 after one worker, previously believed to be buried, was found to have safely made his way home before the avalanche hit.Relief teams managed to rescue 50 workers, but among them four later died of their injuries.Construction worker Anil, who only gave his first name, recalled his rescue hours after being buried by the avalanche.”It was if God’s angels had come to save us,” Anil, who is in his late 20s, told AFP on Sunday by phone from his hospital bed.”The way we were engulfed in snow, we had no hope of surviving.” Being alive now felt “like a dream”, he said.The army said it had airlifted a drone-based detection system to assist in its search operations. Multiple drones and a rescue dog were also being employed.- ‘Not all made it’ -Working on a project by the Border Roads Organisation, the workers were living on site in steel containers considered stronger than tents and capable of withstanding harsh weather. Anil said many workers were fast asleep and a few others were in makeshift toilets when the avalanche struck around 6:00 am Friday.As the ground beneath them shook, the container in which Anil and his colleagues were in began to slide down.”At first we did not understand what was happening but when we looked out of the window of the containers, we saw piles of snow all around,” he said. “The roof of the containers was also slowly bending inwards.”Everyone started screaming for help and a few men were lucky to get out of their containers. “But not all of them made it out and they remained trapped,” he said.- ‘Like thunder’ -His colleague Vipin Kumar thought “this was the end” when he found himself unable to move as he struggled for air under the thick layer of snow.”I heard a loud roar, like thunder … before I could react, everything went dark,” he told the Times of India newspaper.At an altitude of more than 3,200 metres (10,500 feet), minimum temperatures in the area were down to minus 12 degrees Celsius (10 degrees Fahrenheit).Dhan Singh Bisht said his son and nephew were alive only because of the prompt action by the relief teams.”I am grateful to them,” an overwhelmed Bisht told AFP by phone on Saturday.Avalanches and landslides are common in the upper reaches of the Himalayas, especially during the winter season.Scientists say climate change is making weather events more severe, while the increased pace of development in the fragile Himalayan regions has also heightened fears about the fallout from deforestation and construction.In 2021, nearly 100 people died in Uttarakhand after a huge glacier chunk fell into a river, triggering flash floods. And devastating monsoon floods and landslides in 2013 killed 6,000 people and led to calls for a review of development projects in the state.