Uttarakhand cloudburst toll rises to 35

DEHRADUN: The toll in the cloudburst that struck Rudraprayag rose to 35 today with six more bodies recovered from the affected villages.

The bodies were recovered this morning from the debris of flattened houses in the worst-hit Ukhimath area of the district, Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre officials here said.

Twenty six are still missing while 11 of the 15 injured are critical, they said, adding that search and rescue operations by nearly 124 ITBP and Army personnel are on.

Twenty nine bodies had been pulled out during rescue operations yesterday.

Accompanied by state Disaster Management Minister Yashpal Arya and Garhwal MP Satpal Maharaj, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna visited the affected villages, took stock of the damage inflicted by the disaster and reviewed the ongoing relief and rescue operations, officials said.

The cloudburst yesterday wreaked havoc in Chunni, Mangoli, Kimana, Sansari, Giriya, Barhmankholi, Premnagar and Juatok in Ukhimath area of Rudraprayag, killing most of the victims while they were asleep.

The injured are being treated at hospitals in Ukhimath and Srinagar. Those who were critical were referred to hospitals in Dehradun, officials said.