CHAMOLI: Four members of a family were killed in a landslide at Pangarh village in Tharali tehsil of Chamoli district when they were all sleeping in their house and all the members were buried under the debris. One person has been referred to a higher centre in critical condition.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Chamoli Superintendent of Police Shweta Chaubey said, "After the rescue operation with the help of SDRF and NDRF, all of them have been evacuated from there. The deceased have been identified as Sunita Devi (37), Devanand (57), Dhananand (45) and Puli Devi (75)".
According to police sources, One of the two houses that collapsed was empty while five members of a family living in the other house were buried under the debris after being hit by the landslide.
As soon as the incident was reported, the revenue police and regular police started relief rescue work with the help of locals. In the morning, NDRF team also reached the spot for relief work. Out of the five members of the family buried under the debris, four have died while one is seriously injured, who has been referred to the Higher Center.
The villagers blamed the government and the administration for the incident, saying the landslide information from the hill and the demand for displacement had been made by the villagers for a long time.
Prem Purohit, a local resident, told this reporter, the landslide had been occurring for over a year, yet the local administration did not take care of it and the villagers were not displaced", "which has resulted in the death of four people of the same family due to the landslide.