Five more bodies recovered from near Kedarnath shrine, toll 13

Dehradun, Jun 17: Five more bodies were recovered today from near the Himalayan shrine of Kedarnath, taking the toll in the torrential rains lashing Uttarakhand to 13 even as the chardham yatra remained suspended for the second day due to landslips.

Authorities in Chamoli district said the toll may climb as about 50 persons from different villages in the area are missing and rescue operations are on.

They said five bodies were recovered from Basukital adjoining Kedarnath.

The Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath motor way and pedestrian routes are blocked at about a dozen places by rocks and boulders that have come down as part of the debris from collapsed houses and landslides triggered by rains continuing for the last 36 hours.

The rains have triggered flashfloods in the Ganga, Yamuna and their tributaries at most of the places sweeping away a number of bridges, roads and buildings.

The swirling waters of Assiganga, a tributary of the Ganga, has swept away several buildings including a four storeyed house which had been vacated in advance and a temple.

Eight persons were killed yesterday in three separate incidents of house collapse in Dehradun and landslips in Rudraprayag districts.

Heavy rains caused a house at New Mithi Beri in Prem Nagar area of the city to cave in yesterday and five persons were killed and six injured after being hit by landslips in Rudrapayag district.

Four of them were killed near Bhim Gali at Rambara on Kedarnath pedestrian route while one was hit by a landslide near Gaurikund which is on way to Kedarnath, she said.

Five stationary buses, a truck and one JCB have been swept away in the flash floods in Uttarkashi district.

Earlier:

100 houses collapse; 8 dead, 50 missing as rain batters Uttarakhand

Dehradun 17: Uttarakhand has been battered by the rain fury. The torrential rain has caused landslips in the higher reaches and swept away several roads and bridges in Uttarkashi and Chamoli districts. It has also led to suspension of the Char Dham Yatra.

The rain has caused havoc in Kedarnath Valley, one of the four Hindu pilgrim spots (Char Dham) in Uttarakhand, where more than 100 houses have reportedly collapsed due to landslide. Reports say eight people have been killed and 50 others are missing. Reports also say that nearly 30,000 pilgrims are stranded in the valley because of landslides.

Flash floods in the Assiganga in Uttarkashi swept away vehicles and heavy machineries yesterday evening with a high alert being sounded for local residents and labourers to move to higher ground. The state government has sounded a warning of 48 hours to all those on the Char Dham Yatra across the hill-districts.

Both Mandakini and Alaknanda, major tributaries of the Ganga, are flowing over the danger mark and the bridge connecting Rudraprayag and Gaurikund has been damaged leading to its closure, disaster management officer Meera Kenthura said.

State Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Minister Yashpal Arya said the administration is on alert to deal with any emergency.

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is busy repairing the roads damaged by rains, he said, adding that the state government has also sought the assistance of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) to clear the roads blocked due to landslides.