The erratic weather has at least killed three pilgrims and left eight others injured in Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath. The slain were killed after boulders reportedly boulders rolled down onto their hiking route in Kedarnath.
The incident is said to have taken place at Gauri Kund on Sunday, while rescue team was deployed soon after the incident.
"Devotees were buried under the debris at Chirbasa on the Kedarnath Yatra route. Teams of the State Disaster Response Force and District Disaster Response Force are carrying out rescue operations," Rudraprayag's District Magistrate posted on X.
"Efforts are underway to minimise the possibility of injuries and loss of lives. The district administration has requested travellers to stay in a safe place," the senior official added.
According to PTI report, the accident happened at around 7:30 am near Chirbasa area on the Gaurikund-Kedarnath trekking route when the devotees were hit heavy stones and debris falling down from the hill.
The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and disaster management teams reached the spot and started a search and rescue operation, it said.
The report identified the slain as Kishore Arun Parate (31), from Maharashtra’s Nagpur, Sunil Mahadev Kale (24), a resident of Maharashtra’s Jalna district and Anurag Bisht from Rudraprayag, Rajwar said.
It also saidso far the bodies of three devotees have been recovered from the debris, while eight others were rescued in an injured condition and immediately rushed to the hospital.
The rescue operation is still underway, it added.
Taking to microblogging site—X, Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief over the incident.
IMD predicts ‘cloudy skies’, light rainfall in Delhi: IMD has said the national capital is expected to have a ‘generally cloudy sky,’ accompanied by light rains or thunderstorms.
Delhi is likely to have a cloudy sky with light to moderate rainfall, along with gusty winds, for the next three days till July 24, IMD said.
IMD’s ‘red alert’ for Uttarakhand and Gujarat: The IMD has issued a “red alert” of extremely heavy rainfall for Gujarat and Uttarakhand.
The MeT Department has said while Gujarat will face heavy rainfall for the coming three days from July 21-24, heavy rains in Uttarakhand have been predicted for July 21-22.
IMD’s ‘orange alert’ for Himachal Pradesh and northeastern states: IMD has issued an “orange alert” for several states in the country under which these states are expected to receive heavy rainfall. The states for which IMD has issued an “orange alert” includes Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya.
Besides, IMD has predicted heavy rains to hit the regions of Konkan and Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh till July 24. IMD has said that the rains are also expected in Vidarbha till July 22 while there will be downpour likely Chhattisgarh, and Coastal Karnataka on Sunday.
IMD has also predicted heavy rainfall at places in North Interior Karnataka, Kerala, Mahe, Marathwada, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam, and Telangana on Sunday (July 21).
Meanwhile, airliner Vistara in a statement said its flight UK696 from Amritsar to Mumbai (ATQ-BOM) has been diverted to Ahmedabad (AMD) due to bad weather at Mumbai airport and is expected to arrive in Ahmedabad (AMD) at 12.15 hours.
