3 killed, 17 missing after landslide hits Kedarnath

Three bodies were recovered and a frantic search was on for 17 people, including five children, after a landslide washed away a clutch of tarpaulin-covered shops along the Kedarnath Yatra route near Gaurikund into the Mandakini river, which has been in spate since Thursday night.

- Ajay Ramola

Officials involved in the rescue operation indicated that there was little hope of finding any survivors.

Personnel of the State Disaster Relief Force reached spot shortly after the landslide at 11.50pm on Thursday, but had to put off rescue operations till the morning because of the constant rain, and boulders continuing to fall off the mountain face.

Rudraprayag District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar said that, on Friday morning, teams of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF), SDRF, police and district administration were pressed into service.

The victims were shopkeepers (and their family members) who set up stalls along the 16km pilgrim trek from Gaurikund to Kedarnath, and not visitors, he added. "Three bodies have been recovered from the debris of the landslide, while 17 are still missing after the shops were washed away. These include members of two Nepali families who worked as porters and did small jobs at a tea stall," he said. The district administration said that 20 people were washed away, out of which three whose bodies were recovered were males and their identity is yet to be ascertained.