Gopeshwar, Jul 2 (PTI): At least 12 people were killed and 17 trapped under tonnes of debris with little chance of survival, as rain on Friday triggered landslides in parts of Uttarakhand.
A huge landslide in Chamoli left 70 pilgrims bound for Badrinath stranded for hours before they were rescued. National Disaster Response Force teams were rushed from Delhi to the affected areas in both Pithoragarh and Chamoli districts to help in the rescue operations along with SDRF, SSB, ITBP and local agencies, officials said.
While eight people were killed in Singhali area of Pithoragarh district, four lives were claimed by heavy rain in Chamoli district where two were swept away by a mass of mud and slush rushing into Siron village near Chamoli, Sub Divisional Magistrate S K Barnwal said.
One person was killed in Ghat block and another was killed in similar circumstances in Sithel village, he said, adding that eight people trapped in the debris have so far been rescued in the district.
“We have recovered five bodies from Singhali area while three bodies have been recovered from Thal village. The search for other bodies is on by rescue parties consisting of Army and paramilitary personnel,” Pithoragarh District Magistrate H C Semwal said. The entire area is being scoured for people who went missing after the cloudburst, which occurred in the early hours affecting several villages.
According to disaster management officer R S Rana, the cloudburst occurred in the villages of Singhali, Patthakot, Ogla and Thal. “The rescuers are trying their best to locate and recover people,” Rana said.
Pithoragarh disaster management office said the cloudburst brought over 100 mm rains in a space of just two hours in an area spread over 50 square km leaving a trail of destruction.
According to villagers, it is for the first time in 100 years that the region has seen such a cloudburst.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Harish Rawat and Governor K K Paul expressed grief at the loss of lives in the two districts and asked officials to be on the alert.
70 devotees rescued
IG (law and order) Anil Raturi said around 70 devotees bound for Badrinath were left stranded by a huge landslide near Nirmal Palace Hotel in Chamoli. However, police and SDRF personnel evacuated them to safer locations.
The Met department in Dehradun had on Thursday warned of heavy rains in isolated places in Uttarakhand especially Nainital, Udhamsingh Nagar and Champawat districts over the next 72 hours starting Friday.
The cloudbursts also revealed loopholes in the state government’s preparednees to deal with such situations with Chief Minister Harish Rawat telling a private news channel that due to poor connectivity it took him four hours to establish telephonic contact with Pithoragarh District Magistrate.