1 dead as SUV plunges into gorge in Uttarakhand, monsoon mayhem blights state
The MeT department has issued a red alert for the next two days and has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall across Uttarakhand
One woman died in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district on Wednesday after an SUV plunged 200 metres into a gorge after the driver lost control of the vehicle in heavy rain, officials said.
Officials from State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) said that two persons were also injured in the accident and search is underway for a fourth passenger.
Vineet Kumar, an SDRF official in the state said, “We received an update from Rudraprayag district control room that a Scorpio vehicle with four passengers fell into a 200 metre deep gorge on Agasthyamuni Road. One person fell out of the vehicle and injured himself before the car fell into the gorge. SDRF officials immediately rushed to the spot and started rescue operation.”
He said that the person who fell initially was rushed to a nearby hospital by locals and during the rescue operation, SDRF officials rescued a woman who was severely injured and was taken to a hospital. The body of a woman who had died was retrieved. A search was underway to find the fourth passenger.
In Uttarkashi district, the Gangotri highway was opened on Wednesday after being blocked for almost 31 hours. Landslides due to continuous heavy rain had blocked the highway disrupting connection to the Gangotri and around 15 villages near the Indo-China border.
In Bageshwar district, around 40 roads were blocked on Wednesday due to debris falling from the mountains due to incessant heavy rainfall.
In Chamoli district, Badrinath highway was closed on Wednesday for the third day due to landslides. The highway was blocked at Bhanerpani, Gulabkoti, Pagalnala, Hanumanchatti, Lambagad and a few other places. Around 145 pilgrims going to Badrinath shrine were stopped at safe locations due to the road being blocked.
The India Meteorological Department issued a a red alert for the next two days and predicted that heavy to very heavy rainfall with intense spells at a few places and extremely heavy rain at isolated places in Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Nainital, Udham Singh Nagar, Pauri, Tehri, Dehradun and Haridwar districts the state.