DEHRADUN: The monsoon rains and landslides in Uttarakhand have claimed 19 lives, with two more bodies recovered from Rudraprayag on Sunday. Rescue efforts have led to the successful evacuation of over 9,200 pilgrims stranded on the Kedarnath pedestrian route. Search operations for missing individuals are still underway, with 31 people injured in rain-related incidents.
According to official sources, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team, aided by local villagers, utilised a drone to initiate a search operation in the forest on the other side of the Soan River. Upon spotting the drone, two stranded youths signalled for help from atop a rocky outcrop.
The SDRF team successfully rescued the duo, Ankit Mandal and Sunil Singh, residents of Sarita Vihar, Delhi, who were precariously perched on a steep rock face, making it impossible for them to descend. The two youths had been stranded in Gaurikund since July 31, following a cloudburst.
And in another daring rescue operation, the SDRF team from Sonprayag successfully evacuated 9 out of 11 pilgrims who were stranded in the forest, 8 kilometres above Trijuginarayan.
The pilgrims, who were without food and water, were spotted by the SDRF team, led by SI Jitendra Singh, after a treacherous 5-kilometre climb along the Soan River.
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