Uttarakhand Rains: Over 700 Stranded On Kedarnath Route Evacuated (image:x.com/proshillong)

Heavy rains unleashed chaos and severely damaged the route in the Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district on Wednesday night. The relief and rescue operation to evacuate the trapped is progressing.

As many as 737 people were rescued by helicopter and at least 2,670 people were taken to Sonprayag by the relief forces as of Thursday, Uttarakhand Police reports.

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“The rescue work of people stranded on the Shri Kedarnath Dham Yatra route is continuing. 737 passengers were rescued by helicopter throughout the day today. 2670 passengers were taken to Sonprayag. SDRF, NDRF, DDRF, District Police and Administration teams are selflessly helping the devotees,” Uttarakhand Police tweeted.

श्री केदारनाथ धाम यात्रा मार्ग में फंसे लोगों के रेस्क्यू का कार्य लगातार जारी है। आज दिनभर में हैलीकॉप्टर से 737 यात्रियों का हुआ रेस्क्यू। 2670 यात्रियों को सोनप्रयाग पहुंचाया। SDRF, NDRF, DDRF, जिला पुलिस व प्रशासन की टीमें निःस्वार्थ भाव से कर रही हैं श्रद्धालुओं की मदद। pic.twitter.com/fLLX4Z4ekr

— Uttarakhand Police (@uttarakhandcops) August 1, 2024

Uttarakhand DGP Abhinav Kumar also gave updates about the relief and rescue operations in the state and requested people of the state and travelers to be watchful and follow the instructions of the officials.

Due to this weather conditions, the Kedarnath Yatra has been suspended for two days and 12 NDRF as well as 60 SDRF teams are engaged in rescue work, Uttarakhand DGP informed on Thursday.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also conducted a ground inspection of the rain-affected areas in Tehri and Rudraprayag on Thursday.

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It was on Wednesday, a cloudburst was reported in Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath on Wednesday, which led to a landslide in the Bhim Bali stream along the walkway, resulting considerable damage to nearly 30 metres of the route. The sudden heavy rainfall also caused a steep rise in the Mandakini River’s water level as well. The Kedarnath walkway has been temporarily closed due to safety reasons.

Meanwhile, at least four people died and around 49 were missing following multiple cloudburst incidents and flash floods hit Himachal Pradesh.