Karnal youth missing after cloudburst in Kedarnath

Parveen Arora
Tribune News Service
Karnal, August 2
A youth from Karnal district has been missing since Thursday afternoon following a devastating cloudburst and landslide in the Bhim Bali area near Kedarnath. Three others from the district have been rescued after a nightmare of nearly 40 hours.
Prince, a resident of Nigdhu village, was separated from his group of four friends while trying to escape the disaster. However, Arun, another Nigdhu resident, Sonu and Kala, both residents of Budhera village, were airlifted from the Bhim Bali area and are currently safe in Sonprayag. The rescued youth are worried about the safety of Prince as they have no communication with him since Thursday afternoon.
The group of four had travelled to Kedarnath on July 31 and took shelter near the temple during the cloudburst. After spending the night there amid rainfall, they began their journey back on Thursday morning around 9 am, but were stranded due to landslides and damaged roads.
Arun shared the harrowing experience over the phone. “We passed through water and rocks with the help of a rope. Six people were washed away before us, which was disturbing for us,” he said.
Somehow they reached Bhim Bali around 2 pm, where fresh landslides and rain occurred, causing Prince to go missing. “We were stranded there till Friday afternoon and had to spend the night there. We have had no communication with Prince since his disappearance,” he added.
The families of the youth and the entire village are worried about Prince’s safety. Arun appealed to the authorities to speed up the rescue operation and ensure the safe return of those stranded in the area.