Tuesday, 06 AUGUST 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
A total of 1,401 persons were rescued by helicopter and manually from Kedarnath and nearby locations on Monday by the authorities. According to the officials, at least 11,000 persons have been rescued from Kedarnath and nearby areas between August 1 and 5. The Disaster Management secretary Vinod Kumar Suman informed that consistent dense cloud cover in the Kedarnath area has been hampering rescue by air. The weather cleared on Monday morning due to which the IAF’s Chinook helicopter conducted two round trips rescuing 65 persons, the Mi-17 chopper carried out three rounds rescuing 61 persons while the State helicopter rescued 10 persons. Apart from this, 509 persons were taken from Kedarnath to Lincholi on foot, from where they were taken further by helicopter. Further, 584 persons were taken from Gaurikund to Sonprayag while 172 were taken via Chaumasi.
All pilgrims have been rescued safely from Gaurikund with only the local residents and traders staying there at present. About 50 pilgrims have voluntarily stayed in Kedarnath in addition to the Teerth Purohits, local shopkeepers, local residents and others working in the area.
The authorities had increased the number of personnel involved in the rescue and relief efforts on Sunday. Sniffer dogs are also being used in the search operations. The body of a person was discovered in the debris on the route between Gaurikund and Kedarnath. The body was identified as that of Yamunanagar, Haryana resident Gautam.
