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180 tourists rescued from Mussoorie’s Kempty Falls after heavy rain
The water from the 40-foot falls spilled onto the main road after debris from landslides accumulated at its origin.
At least 180 tourists were evacuated from Mussoorie’s famous Kempty Falls after heavy rain led to a flood-like situation on Sunday evening.
The water from the 40-foot falls spilled on to the main road after debris from landslides accumulated at its origin. The flooding of the road forced tourists to climb the hills for safety. Water even surged into shops in the area.
“Water came rushing through the fall and within seconds, the road was inundated. People started panicking but we collected ourselves, informed the police and started rescue operation,” said Rakesh Kumar, a local shopkeeper.
“With the help of shopkeepers and local residents, police led the rescue operation and safely rescued all the tourists,” said Prakash Pokhriyal, station officer, Kempty. Top officials also carried out inspection of the area.
A team of eight police personnel donned life jackets and used ropes to rescue the stranded visitors. A 35-second video shared on social media showed how the personnel, along with local residents, helped tourists, mainly women and children to cross the main road that was inundated.
The situation at the falls has returned to normal now but the weather condition in the state is not expected to get better anytime soon as the met office has predicted that Uttarakhand will continue to receive “heavy rain” over the next four-five days. The waterfall was earlier closed in July during another bout of rainfall.
“As it was a Sunday, there were tourists from all over the country, mainly parts of Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Delhi and Punjab,” Pokhriyal said.
It is one incident where police has independently rescued such a large number of people without any assistance from State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). Last week, seven people were killed in Tehri in a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall. Two brothers were also buried under debris after landslide in Chamoli district.
