5 Killed, 3 Injured in Massive Landslide on Kedarnath Route; More Pilgrims Feared Trapped

Sonprayag: Five people have lost their lives in a massive landslide between Sonprayag and Gaurikund on Monday; their bodies have been recovered. Initially, one person had been killed, then the death toll was updated to three, it has now mounted to five.

5 Killed in Landslide in Kedarnath, More Feared Trapped

Five people died in to landslide due to heavy rains, between Sonprayag and Gaurikund on Shri Kedarnath Yatra route. The SDRF has removed all five bodies and handed them over to the district administration. More pilgrims could be trapped under the debris, Rudraprayag Police said on Tuesday. The rescue operation had to suspended due to bad weather and boulders still falling from the hillside intermittently on Monday night. 

As rescue efforts were resumed on Tuesday morning, bodies of four more pilgrims, including three women, were pulled out of the debris The pilgrims were identified as Durgabai Khapar (50) from Ghat district in Madhya Pradesh , Titli Devi (70) from Vaidehi village of Nepal's Dhanwa district, Saman Bai (50) from Dhar, Madhya Pradesh and Bharat Bhai Niralal (52) from Surat, Gujarat .

Landslide between Sonprayag and Gaurikund

The landslide occurred on Monday evening, near Munkatiya between Sonprayag and Gaurikund on the Kedarnath National Highway, an official said.

District Disaster Management Officer of Rudraprayag Nandan Singh Rajwar said the incident occurred at around 7.20 pm.

State Disaster Response Force and National Disaster Response Force personnel launched a rescue operation after receiving the information.

The body of a person was pulled out from the debris and two others were rescued and taken to a hospital in Sonprayag, Rajwar said; those injured succumbed to their injuries.

In another news, two women pilgrims from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh died while a five-year-old girl was grievously injured in a landslide on the new track to the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district on Monday, officials said. Movement of pilgrims on the Himkoti track was halted following the landslide but the pilgrimage to the shrine atop Trikuta hills continued through the traditional Sanjhichatt route, they said.

(Inputs from PTI)