Two Kumaon Scout personnel have been killed, five injured and one is missing in a mishap of avalanche in Chhiyalekh in Pithoragarh's Dharchula tehsil. Chief Minister Harish Rawat has expressed his condolence over the incident. The bodies of the two Kumaon Scout personnel have been recovered from under the snow, while another is yet to be traced, said the Pithoragarh district administration. According to the district administration, the deceased have been identified as Santosh Chand and Pradeep Kumar.
This tragedy occurred on Monday night when the Himalayan State was reeling under heavy rainfall. The news of the mishap reached Kumaon Scout, Dharchula, around 8 pm Monday, said the officials. Though two helicopters as part of a rescue operation reached Dharchula on Tuesday to provide relief to the injured, rescue operations could not be launched in this upper Himalayan region due to the continuing inclement weather conditions, said Shushil Kumar, District Magistrate, Pithoragarh.
However, a relief team with necessary medicines has also been moved to the incident site so that the relief operation could be carried out, added the District Magistrate. At the same time, the local tehsil administration in Dharchula has also been mobilised to coordinate with the rescue teams so that necessary relief could be extended to the needy in the upper Himalayan region. Of the five injured personnel, three have been identified. They are Bhopal Singh, Sanjay Singh and Narendra Singh, while the whereabouts of others are yet to be traced.