DEHRADUN: A small hotel in Uttarakhand’s Tehri was swept away on Thursday in the sudden rush of water and debris following a cloudburst, killing three members of a family and injuring six others. Nine more people died elsewhere in the state in heavy overnight rains that flooded small towns.
Swollen rivers have crossed danger marks at several places prompting the government to sound a high alert in the Kedar Valley, and suspend the Kedarnath Yatra. Rescue efforts are underway to evacuate pilgrims stranded along the pedestrian paths, with helicopters being used in the operation.
Tehri district magistrate Mayur Dixit said the authorities rushed teams of revenue, police, SDRF, health, roads and electricity to Jakhnyali in Ghansali Block, Tehri, late Wednesday night after receiving reports on a hotel being washed away in a cloud burst.
SDRF sources said two bodies were recovered at night while an injured person succumbed to his injuries on way to the hospital. The deceased have been identified as Bhanu Prasad, 50 and Anita Devi, 45.
In another incident, two persons went missing in Chamoli’s Belchori area after a flash flood. District disaster management officer, Nandan Singh Rajwar told this newspaper that NDRF and SDRF personnel were working hard to rescue pilgrims in Lencholi.