12 die in U’khand cloudburst

BD Kasniyal & 

Himanshu K Lall

Tribune News Service

Pithoragarh/Dehradun, July 1

Eight  persons were killed in landslides triggered by a cloudburst in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district and four in Chamoli this morning, even as roads and land stretches  vanished and telecommunication services in the two districts got snapped.

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   At least 25 persons from seven villages in Pithoragarh were reportedly swept away and efforts were being made to trace them, said RS Rana, Pithoragarh District Disaster Management Officer.

The cloudburst poured destruction on Singhali Pattharkot, Ogla and Thal villages. “The residents are trapped under the sludge. The rescuers are trying to pull them out,” Rana said. Three of the rescued persons were airlifted to the Pithoragarh district hospital. 

The  cloudburst resulted in 100 mm of rainfall in 50 sq km area within hours. While four persons were killed in Chamoli district, two were swept away in Siron village. A five-year-old child was killed in Ghat block. With the Nandakini river in spate, residents of Ghat block were shifted to a safer place.  

The Centre rushed teams of the National Disaster Response Force to the state. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to Chief Minister Harish Rawat  and took stock of the situation. 

On Thursday, a warning was issued of heavy rain in Nainital, Udham Singh Nagar and Champawat districts over the next three days.