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Gaurikund landslide toll rises to 7, search on for 16 others: Officials
The search and rescue operation is continuing for over one week for 23 missing people who were washed away in the Mandakini River after a landslide along the Kedarnath yatra route near Gaurikund on Thursday
Two more bodies were recovered on Saturday as the search operation continued in the Mandakini River, taking the toll in the Gaurikund landslide along the Kedarnath yatra route to seven, officials familiar with the matter said.
The bodies were identified as Anita Bohra (28) and her daughter Jatil (8), natives of Karnali province in Nepal.
Meanwhile, the search is on for 16 who are still missing and presumed dead, said officials, adding that of the 23 people affected, 17 are Nepalese.
The search and rescue operation is continuing for over one week for 23 missing people who were washed away in the Mandakini River after a landslide along the Kedarnath yatra route near Gaurikund on Thursday.
Earlier on August 10, two bodies were recovered, and three on August 4, a day after the incident.
Nandan Singh Rajwar, Rudraprayag district disaster management officer (DDMO), said, “On the ninth day of the rescue and search operation, we recovered the two bodies. They were identified as Anita Bohra (28), and her daughter Jatil (8), natives of Karnali province in Nepal. The search operation is continuing for another 16 missing people who were washed away in the Mandakini River on August 3,” he said.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police and local administration have been pressed in the search and rescue operations, officials added.
The teams involved in the search operation had earlier branched out to the Srinagar Dam area, which is 100km downstream from the site of the landslide, said the officials mentioned above.
According to the officials, underwater sonar systems in addition to drones are being used to track the bodies in muddy waters. The authorities have also urged the local residents to contact the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) control room in case of any information on the victims.
Following the Gaurikund landslide incident, the state government announced that a multi-disciplinary survey of the disaster-sensitive areas on the Char Dham route to avoid Gaurikund-like incidents will be carried out.
A senior official of the disaster management department who didn’t wish to be named said the survey mainly aims to restrict constructions (of any kind) in the areas, which are extremely prone to landslides and climate events.
