Monsoon mayhem- seven missing, two bodies recovered after landslide in U’kashi
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/Uttarkashi
Heavy rains brought death and destruction to a camp site of labourers near an under-construction hotel in Silai Bend area of Badkot Tehsil in Uttarkashi district during the wee hours of Sunday. Seven labourers are reported to be missing after a landslide hit their camp site following heavy rains. Two bodies have been recovered so far with the search and rescue operation continuing till the time of this report being filed.
Uttarkashi district magistrate Prashant Arya said that information was received about a landslide near Silai Bend at about 3 AM. The disaster occurred at a newly formed landslide zone near an under-construction hotel. The debris hit the camp site of labourers working on the site. There were 29 labourers in the camp at the time of the disaster. While 20 of them were safely rescued, nine were reported missing. The National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and other departments concerned conducting the search and rescue operation are using drones and other equipment to trace the missing workers. Two bodies had been recovered by the search and rescue teams till the evening.
Earlier, receiving information about the disaster, the district magistrate reached the district emergency operations centre to monitor the situation and issued necessary directions to the officials concerned. According to sources, the impact of the landslide due to heavy rain was so strong that two of the labourers at the camp site died on the spot. They have been identified as Dujelal (55) from Uttar Pradesh and Kewal Bisht (43) from Nepal.
The missing labourers have been identified as Roshan Chaudhary (37) from Nepal, Anvir Dhami (40) from Nepal, Kalluram Chudhary (60) from Nepal, Jaichand (38) from Dehradun, Chotu (22) from Dehradun, Priyansh (20) from Dehradun and Sarkatel Dhami (32) from Nepal.
The district magistrate further informed that the search and rescue teams are making all possible efforts to trace the missing labourers with drones and other equipment also being used in the search operation.
