Uttarakhand: 5 Kedarnath pilgrims dead after landslide debris hit car
What's the story
At least five pilgrims, on their way to Kedarnath, have reportedly lost their lives after the vehicle they were traveling in was crushed under debris from a landslide in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand.
Reportedly, the landslide took place on the Guptkashi-Gaurikund highway near Tarsali's Phata area, washing away almost 60 meters of the road on Thursday night. Their bodies were recovered on Friday.
Details
SDRF's rescue work delayed due to heavy rains
As per the news agency PTI, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) immediately launched a rescue operation after the landslide incident. However, their work was hindered massively due to heavy rains in the area.
When the weather finally cleared on Friday, the SDRF managed to pull out the five bodies from the mangled remains of the car involved in the tragedy.
More details
Identities of deceased in tragedy revealed
Confirming the development, Rudraprayag District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar said that the mangled remains of a Maruti Swift Dzire car and five bodies were pulled out of the landslide debris.
Furthermore, officials also reportedly revealed the identities of the deceased as Parik Divyansh, Mahesh Desai, and Jigar R Modi from Gujarat, and Manish Kumar and Mintu Kumar from Haridwar.
Twitter Post
Visuals from Rudraprayag landslide incident site
VIDEO | Five people, including three pilgrims from Gujarat, died yesterday after being buried under the debris of a landslide on the Kedarnath Yatra route in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 12, 2023
READ: https://t.co/UIONnh8BBI pic.twitter.com/8whiwA9JMU
Know more
Heavy rains paralyze Uttarakhand
Amid the overwhelming rainfall this year, natural disasters like floods, landslides, and cloudbursts have caused significant loss of life and property in Uttarakhand.
Citing the State Emergency Operation Center (SEOC), India TV reported that as many as 58 people have died and 37 individuals were injured in various rain-related incidents during this monsoon, while at least 19 are still missing in the state.
Further details
Uttarakhand CM conducts inspection of rain-hit Kotdwar
On Friday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami conducted an aerial and ground inspection of rain-hit Kotdwar.
He later tweeted, "During the aerial and ground inspection of the disaster-affected area at Kotdwar today, the officials were instructed to expedite the work on the approach road going to Kumbhichowd-Ratanpur in Gadi Ghati and to immediately restore the connectivity of Haldukhata-Kishanpur-Sigadi road on Malan river."
Twitter Post
Twitter post by Dhami
आज कोटद्वार में आपदाग्रस्त क्षेत्र का हवाई एवं स्थलीय निरीक्षण के दौरान अधिकारियों को गाड़ीघाटी में कुंभीचौड-रतनपुर को जाने वाले एप्रोच मार्ग पर तेजी से कार्य करने तथा मालन नदी पर हल्दूखाता-किशनपुर-सिगड्डी मार्ग की कनेक्टिविटी तत्काल बहाल करने के निर्देश दिए।
— Pushkar Singh Dhami (@pushkardhami) August 11, 2023
अधिकारियों को… pic.twitter.com/XW3UKIp7og