Six killed in separate cloudbursts in Uttarakhand; Army jawan missing

Six persons were killed while an Army jawan is missing after two separate cloudbursts in Dharchula sub division of the district early today.

According to district administration sources, the first incident occurred at Mangti Nullah near Tawaghat in Dharchula sub division when the local rivulet Mangti Nullah overflowed due to heavy rains at its basin and hit some shops and an Army camp below the nullah.

The Army, NDRF and SDRF teams have recovered two bodies form the spot while an Army jawan is missing, said Ashish Chauhan, District Magistrate, Pithoragarh.

The second cloudburst occurred at Malpa, where an overflowing local rivulet swept away four persons.

Disaster mitigation teams later recovered four bodies while one person has been saved.

"We have pressed into service rescue and rehabilitation personnel from NDRF and SDRF beside ITBP and Army jawans and a massive search operation has been launched to trace the missing," said RS Rana, district disaster management officer in Pithoragarh district.