New Delhi: At least nine persons were left dead and one rescued alive after a car they were travelling in washed away in the Dhela river in Uttarakhand’s Ramnagar on Friday morning, said the police, reported news agency ANI. As per the report, the incident took place at around 5 am on Friday.
Four bodies have been retrieved and five bodies are still trapped in the car amid the heavy flow of water due to heavy rainfall in the state. Efforts are on to remove the bodies, the news agency reported.
"Nine people died, one girl was rescued alive and about 5 bodies are still trapped after a car washed away in the Dhela river of Ramanagar amid the heavy flow of water induced by rains early this morning, Kumaon Range, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Nilesh Anand Bharan told to ANI.
Five more people are still trapped in the car. Efforts are being made to rescue them. The car is badly stuck," he added.
As Uttarakhand is witnessing heavy rainfall, the flow of water in the river is faster than usual. The accident occurred due to ignorance, the DIG said, quoted by the news agency.
The Meteorological Department had on July 4 predicted heavy rainfall in the Himalayan state for the next four days. An alert was issued in seven districts of the state — Dehradun, Nainital, Bageshwar, Pithoragarh, Tehri, Pauri, and Champawat.
On Monday heavy rain lashed Dehradun in which several trees were uprooted and vehicles were damaged. The monsoon hit Uttarakhand last week raising concerns over landslides in the hill state.People have been advised to be alert due to landslides, rock fall, debris on roads, erosion and water flow in river drains through sensitive areas due to heavy rains.