4 dead as heavy rain triggers landslides in Uttarakhand; 8 rescued
Four people, including a two-year-old child and a 25-year-old woman pilgrim from Delhi, died in separate rain-related incidents on Tuesday as landslides blocked several roads and rivers and streams swelled due to heavy showers in Uttarakhand. Two others were injured in the incidents.
Eight people, including six students, were rescued from swollen rivers in two separate incidents in the state.
On the Kedarnath trek route in Rudraprayag district, about 2.5 km beyond Gaurikund, Anjali, a resident of Delhi's Shalimar Bagh, died after being struck by boulders falling from the mountainside, police said.
The incident happened around 11 am when she was on her way to Kedarnath with her husband who escaped unhurt. A 34-year-old pilgrim from Karnataka, Sidappa, was also injured by a falling boulder.
In Pauri district, a two-storey house collapsed following a landslide at 7.15 am amid continuous rain in Mehargaon in Lansdowne tehsil, killing three people of a family, including two-year-old Rudraksh, who were trapped under the debris.
Lansdowne Station House Officer (SHO) Ramesh Tanwar said that rescue and relief teams reached the spot upon receiving the information. However, by then, locals had already pulled out an injured 51-year-old woman from the debris and she was immediately rushed to the hospital.
Tanwar said the bodies of Rudraksh, Dhirendra Singh (46) and Mathura Devi (70) were subsequently recovered from the debris.
Village head Amit Negi told PTI that the entire family was having their morning tea when the incident occurred. When debris suddenly collapsed onto the house, Dhirendra Singh's wife, Vidhata Devi, managed to escape.
However, Dhirendra, his mother Mathura Devi, grandson Rudraksh, and sister-in-law got trapped under the rubble. The sister-in-law was subsequently pulled out in an injured condition.
Pauri District Magistrate Swati Bhadauria trekked 3 km to reach the site and offered condolences to the bereaved family. She announced financial assistance of Rs 14 lakh to the family and assured them of all possible support in the future.
Heavy rain triggered landslides and debris accumulation at several places, blocking roads across the state. Efforts were underway to clear the affected stretches.
The Yamunotri National Highway was blocked near Durbil and Junglechatti in Uttarkashi district due to debris, officials said.
In Chamoli district, debris entered the premises of the Kalpeshwar Temple during the heavy downpour. No casualties were reported.
Rising water levels in rivers and streams posed a threat to people in several areas.
According to the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), a vehicle overturned in the rain-swollen Been River in Rishikesh around 9.30 pm on Monday. A rescue operation was launched immediately after the incident was reported.
After strenuous efforts, one person trapped inside the vehicle was rescued safely. The second person, however, remained trapped and was swept some distance away by the strong current, making the rescue operation challenging.
Another SDRF team was subsequently called to the spot and, through a coordinated effort, managed to rescue the second person as well. Both were sent to a hospital for treatment.
In another incident in Thaan village in Dehradun, six students of a private university who had gone trekking in the forest became stranded while returning after the Swarna River swelled due to heavy rain.
An SDRF team from Dakpathar trekked around 6 km to reach the students and brought all of them to safety.
SDRF Commandant Arpan Yaduvanshi appealed to people to exercise extreme caution during the rainy season, warning that water levels in rivers and streams can rise suddenly.
He advised tourists and students against visiting riverbanks during rainfall and urged them to undertake trekking and other outdoor activities only after checking weather forecasts.
In view of an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall, officials in Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri and Udham Singh Nagar have been instructed to remain cautious.
Due to a heavy rain forecast, schools in Dehradun from Classes 1 to 12 have also been closed.
The weather office has also issued an orange alert for Dehradun and Bageshwar districts and a yellow alert for other districts of the state for Wednesday.
