22 dead in cloudburst in Uttarakhand

Over a month after a similar tragedy in Uttarkashi, 22 persons were today killed and 15 injured while 40 others went missing in a cloudburst that flattened homes in Ukhimath area of Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district.

"22 bodies have been recovered so far and 40 persons are still missing," a Disaster Management and Mitigation Department (DMMD) official said here.

Ukhimath tehsil and nearby villages like Chunni, Mangoli, Kimana, Sansari, Giriya, Brahmankholi, Premnagar and Juatok have been the worst hit, he said.

Most of the people died in sleep as the natural calamity flattened homes in the wee hours.

"As the calamity struck the region, authorities launched rescue and relief operations with the help of the army and ITBP personnel," Rudraprayag District Magistrate Neeraj Kherwal said.

120 army and ITBP personnel were pressed for rescue operations and a private chopper has been kept on the standby for evacuation if needed, he said.

Communication and power lines were disrupted and traffic along several roads, including national highways in the area, was affected, DMMC officials said.

Rishikesh-Badrinath and Rishikesh-Gangotri highways have been closed due to landslips triggered by incessant rains, they said.

Expressing shock over the tragedy, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna asked the District Magistrate to take up relief and rescue operations on a war footing in the affected area and sanctioned Rs 10 crore for the purpose.

Bahuguna said he will visit the affected areas tomorrow along with Minister for Disaster Management Yashpal Arya.

Eighty homes were flattened in the affected villages, Bahuguna said adding rescue operations were affected due to difficult terrain and intermittent rains.

Governor Aziz Qureshi expressed shock over the loss of life and property in the cloudburst.

In a similar tragedy on August 4, 28 people were killed and six went missing in a cloudburst in Uttarkashi district of the state.

Meanwhile, four persons died after being swept away by flash floods triggered by incessant rains in Kapkot area of Uttarakhand's Bageshwar district last night, officials said.