A day after heavy rains and cloudbursts caused widespread destruction in several districts of Uttarakhand, rescuers began searching for the missing in knee-deep debris on Saturday morning.
On Friday, cloudbursts and landslides struck Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Bageshwar and Tehri districts, leaving behind widespread destruction. Six people have died and 11 are still missing.
Rescue teams from the SDRF and DDRF struggled to reach the affected areas on Friday as broken roads blocked their way. With the weather improving on Saturday, officials said search and rescue work was now picking up pace.
“Knee-high debris has accumulated in the Chenagad market area, where more than 10 shops and dhabas were completely washed away in the disaster. The roads are also breached,” officials said.
“Our focus is to restore the road access to the affected area so that heavy machines can be moved there to clear the rubble,” said District Magistrate Prateek Jain. He added that without heavy machinery, reaching those trapped was very difficult.
In Rudraprayag’s Chenagad market, knee-deep debris has piled up. More than 10 shops and roadside eateries were swept away. Roads in the area have also been badly damaged.
“Our priority is to restore road access so heavy machines can reach the spot and clear the rubble,” said District Magistrate Prateek Jain. He added that without machines, reaching those trapped is very difficult.
Eight people are missing in Rudraprayag and three in Bageshwar. Five deaths were reported from Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Bageshwar on Friday. In Dehradun, the body of a 10-year-old boy was pulled out from a river in Dehradun.
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