Dehradun, Feb 21 (IANS): Five more bodies have been recovered since Saturday evening as NDRF-SDRF workers continued their operation at the disaster-hit areas of Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.

All the five bodies were recovered at the Tapovan barrage side, top police officials said on Sunday.

Due to heavy water and sludge, excavation work is going on a slow pace inside the tunnel of the Tapovan project where 13 bodies out of the 25-35 buried people have been recovered so far, they said.

Tunnel has already been dug at a level of 166 meter deep and six meter in slope. Water is continuously being pumped out of the tunnel, they said.

Nearly 204 persons went missing after the February 7 deluge in the Rishiganga river.

A total of 67 bodies have been recovered so far. Due to the presence of water and sludge inside the tunnel, the excavation work is being hampered. The operation is going on a slow pace due to presence of heavy sludge and also as a precautionary measure to bring out the bodies with maximum care.

The rescuers are working on two major places -- one inside the tunnel and other at the remains of the Rishiganga project in Reni. Sniffer dogs are also being used in the rescue operation near Reni village. Besides, the searches are also being carried out in rivers.

After days of digging and excavation works, jawans of army and ITBP have been withdrawn from the rescue operation. Now only NDRF and SDRF personnel are engaged in the rescue works.