Uttarakhand Landslide: Four Killed After Massive Rock Crush Passengers During Landslide

NEW DELHI: Massive rocks that came down from a hill, crushing passenger cars during a landslide on the Gangotri National Highway, claimed the lives of four pilgrims and injured several others. On July 10 at night, when the pilgrims were returning from Gangotri to Uttarkashi close to Su Nagar, the tragedy took place.

Volunteers and government workers jumped into action to save the trapped travelers. Despite enormous obstacles, they were able to save a number of people well into the night with the assistance of the locals. However, due to persistent stone-pelting in the neighbourhood, the rescue effort had to be momentarily put on hold.

Due to heavy rain, the Gangotri National Highway is restricted to traffic at Bandarkot.

In the meantime, a Malari glacier burst broke off ten villages that were connected to the Indo-China Border by a bridge by sweeping away another.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red signal, forecasting heavy to very heavy rain in Uttarakhand, as rain continues to batter regions in north India.

Schools in Dehradun, Tehri, Chamoli, Pauri, Bageshwar, Nainital, Almora, and Rudraprayag were ordered to be closed on Tuesday due to a strong rain warning.

The IMD predicts that on July 11 and 12, there will likely be a lot of rain in the districts of Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Tehri Garhwal, Dehradun, Paru Garhwal, Bageshwar, Almora, Champawat, Nainital, Udham Singh Nahar, and Haridwar.

The flow of vehicles from Kullu and Manali towards Atal Tunnel and Rohtang has been entirely suspended, according to the authorities, due to the raging river and stonefall on the Kullu-Manali route. In the last 36 hours, the state has experienced up to thirteen landslides, nine flash floods, and 736 traffic-closed highways.

In order to avoid disruption, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has urged residents to avoid needless travel and has asked pilgrims visiting the state to only schedule their trips after receiving the most recent weather reports. He claimed in a tweet that he had ordered the administration to stay in "red alert" status to handle any situation.

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