Landslide on Kedarnath route: Death toll rises to five, rescue ops on; CM Dhami expresses grief

The death toll climbed to five in a large landslide incident that hit Kedarnath shrine pilgrims around 7:25 pm on September 9. The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) recovered the bodies of 4 people on Tuesday morning while one body was once recovered on Monday night. The incident befell when debris of a landslide hit the motorway between Gaurikund and Sonprayag.

The administration launched rescue operations and deployed teams of National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) and SDRF.

Traffic along the route had been restored only two-three days back after a a hundred and fifty-metre damaged stretch of the road was once repaired. It had been demolished in a large landslide on July 31 triggered by heavy rain.

Soon after the landslide on Monday, State Disaster Response Fund and National Disaster Response Fund personnel had launched a rescue operation and retrieved the body of a pilgrim identified as Gopal (50) from Dhar in Madhya Pradesh besides rescuing three other pilgrims who were rushed to Sonprayag in an ambulance.

The injured pilgrims were identified as Jeewach Tiwari from Nepal, Manpreet Singh from West Bengal and Chagan Lal from Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh

The rescue operation hampered by continuing rain and prevailing darkness needed to be suspended on Monday night.

As rescue efforts were resumed on Tuesday morning, bodies of 4 more pilgrims, including three women, were pulled out of the debris.

The pilgrims were identified as Durgabai Khapar (50) from Ghat district in Madhya Pradesh, Titli Devi (70) from Vaidehi village of Nepal’s Dhanwa district, Saman Bai (50) from Dhar, Madhya Pradesh and Bharat Bhai Niralal (fifty two) from Surat, Gujarat.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has expressed grief over the inability of lives in the incident.