Three people died while eight others sustained injuries after a landslide occurred near Chidwasa on the Kedarnath pilgrimage in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district on Sunday (July 21), the officials said. The incident took place at around 7.30 am, approximately 3 kilometres ahead of Gaurikund on the footpath leading to Shri Kedarnath Dham as the debris and stones fell from the hill at a place called Chidwasa, hitting pedestrians on the path, they added. The devotees were going from Gaurikund to visit Kedarnath Dham. The injured were rushed to a nearby health centre in Gaurikund immediately and the rescue operation was launched, considering the possibility of others being trapped.
The bodies of the deceased were handed over to the district police by the SDRF team.
How did the incident take place?
On July 21, at 8:00 am, the district control room in Rudraprayag informed the SDRF team that a landslide had occurred near Chidwasa on the Kedarnath pilgrimage route, resulting in some people being trapped under the debris. Upon receiving this information, the SDRF team, led by Inspector Aniruddh Singh Bhandari, reached the accident site and initiated the rescue operation.
All the pilgrims were on their way from Gaurikund to Kedarnath Dham for a visit, and the accident happened suddenly due to a landslide near Chidwasa.
The SDRF team responded at the incident site, rescuing 8 injured individuals and immediately rushing them to the hospital. Three individuals died on the spot, and their bodies were handed over to the district police by the SDRF team.
Details of the deceased
- Kishore Arun Parate, son of Arun Parate, resident Nagpur, Maharashtra (age 31 years)
- Sunil Mahadev Kale, son of Mahadev Kale, resident of District Jalna, Maharashtra (age 24 years)
- Anurag Singh, resident of Rudraprayag (age 22 years)
Details of the injured persons
- Chela Bhai Chaudhary, son of Ram Ji Bhai Chaudhary, resident of Gujarat (age 23 years) - Head injury
- Jagdish, son of Pratap Bhai Purohit, resident Gujarat (age 45 years) - Leg fracture
- Abhishek Chauhan, son of Naineshwar Chauhan, resident of Goundi, District Jalna, Maharashtra (age 18 years) - Head injury
- Dhaneshwar Pandey, son of Gajanand, resident of Maharashtra (age 27 years) - Head injury
- Hardana Bhai Patel, resident of Gujarat - Minor hand injury
CM Dhami reacts
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami tweeted, "The news of some pilgrims getting injured due to debris and heavy stones falling from the hill near the Kedarnath Yatra route is very sad. Relief and rescue work is going on at the site of the accident, I am constantly in touch with the officials in this regard. I have given instructions to provide better treatment to the people injured in the accident immediately."
(With inputs from Inder Bisht)
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