As many as 16 people were killed and six seriously injured after flashfloods and landslides triggered by “heavy to very heavy rainfall” wreaked havoc in parts of Uttarakhand. Kedarnath valley remained completely cut off following a landslide near Bhimbhali on the trek route, leaving nearly 450 people stranded, while the Kedarnath highway was washed away between Sonprayag and Gaurikund. As a result, the Char Dham yatra to the shrine was halted.
SDRF commandant said, “About 425 people stranded in Bhimbali, Rambara, Lincholi along Kedarnath yatra route were airlifted. Almost 1,100 people stranded between Sonprayag and Bhimbali were shifted to a safer place.”
400 stranded
A multi-agency rescue operation continued at Kedarnath with 400 people still stranded after severe rains ravaged the area. Over 1,200 individuals, including pilgrims and locals, were moved to safer locations, even as the Indian Army began constructing a footbridge on the damaged stretch between Sonprayag and Gaurikund on the Kedarnath National Highway to facilitate further evacuations.
The district management department said, “Approximately 400 people were escorted on foot from Kedarnath to Lincholi, from where they were airlifted to various locations, including Char Dham and Sirsi helipads.” Five small helicopters have been deployed for the rescue efforts, airlifting around 640 people from Lincholi, Bhimbali, and Kedarnath. Since the rescue operations began, 2,622 individuals have been airlifted from different locations, including 138 from Lincholi, 2,409 from Bhimbali, and 75 from Chidbasa.
9 killed in Himachal flash floods
Rescuers deployed drones in a massive effort to trace about 45 people still missing in flash floods in three Himachal Pradesh districts as the death toll rose to nine, officials said. Two bodies were found in Mandi’s Rajban village and one from Kullu’s Nirmand after three cloudbursts in three districts - Kullu, Mandi and Shimla -last week triggered the flash floods.
Around 300 people stranded around Shrikhand Mahadev in Kullu were safe and about 25 tourists at Malana are being looked after well by the locals, chief secretary Prabodh Saxena said.
