At least three people died and 17 were reported to be missing after a massive landslide hit Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district on Saturday. The incident occurred just 16 kilometres from Kedarnath. Many are feared trapped under the debris. Two shops and dhabas were destroyed in the incident. As per news agency ANI, four locals and 16 people of Nepali origin were inside the establishments at the time of the incident.
The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has launched a search & rescue operation into the matter.
ANI reported that as per the information received from the District Administration Uttarkashi, around 50-60 parts have completely collapsed due to a massive landslide near Moldi on the Arakot-Chinva motorway in the Mori area of the district bordering Himachal Pradesh. Following the evacuations, now dozens of villages in the area have become isolated. A number of passengers are stranded on the route due to the aforementioned landslide incident that occurred this morning.
Prior to this, on Friday, heavy rainfall in Rudraprayag triggered another major landslide near Gaurikund on the Kedarnath Yatra route. Three shops got damaged due to the landslide and over 10 people were feared to be trapped underneath the debris.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is scheduled to visit the spot to review the search and rescue operations.
Circle Officer Vimal Rawat while talking to news agency PTI on Friday said, "Relief and rescue operations were launched by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel but none of the missing people have been found yet."