Nine Construction Workers Missing In Uttarkashi After Cloud Burst, Landslide

Nine construction workers have gone missing following a cloudburst in the Silai Band area between Paligad and Ojri Daburkot in Uttarkashi district's Barkot tehsil.  

The area has also been witnessing incessant rains, which have triggered landslides and threatened several ecologically fragile areas on the Yamunotri National Highway. 

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, confirming the incident about a landslide caused by a cloud burst, said the SDRF, NDRF, and other district agencies had reached the spot and started rescue operations to save the lives of missing workers.

"I am in constant touch with the authorities and officials supervising the operation," he posted on X micro-social media this morning.

Officials said the tragedy happened around midnight at the site of an under-construction hotel where 19 workers were engaged in the construction. Of which 10 have been saved while the search for the rest was underway.

They are all reported to be Nepali nationals. They had put up tents along the road where the landslide occurred.

District Magistrate Uttarkashi Prashant Arya said that the team has started working to search for the missing people. The Yamunotri highway has also been a 10-meter washout. 

At the same time, the route is being disrupted by debris and stone near the national highway Sirobgad, which passes through the border of Rudraprayag district and district Pauri.  

"On receiving the information of the incident after midnight on Saturday, police, administration, state disaster counter-protest force, and other agencies swung into action and started relief and rescue operations," said a District Disaster Management authority official.

Medical teams have also been summoned and asked to provide emergency care to the workers rescued.

According to the state Disaster Control Room, Uttarakhand has been witnessing continuous rains for the past 24 hours. The MeT department has already issued a red alert about the possibility of heavy rainfall in several districts and the chances of landslides and cloudbursts.

The ongoing Char-Dham yatra has also been temporarily halted, said Vinay Shankar Pandey, Commissioner, Garhwal region.

The report said more than 72 roads are blocked, and nearly 50,000 people are also cut off from the rest of the areas following disruption of road communications caused by the monsoon rains.

The rain is also reported to have caused extensive damage to agricultural land at Kuthanur village in the district. The fields are filled with landslide debris and muck. The road near Ojri has also been completely damaged.

In the neighbouring state of Himachal Pradesh, the death toll due to flash floods in Kangra has risen to six, while the situation in Kullu has also been worrisome.

The MeT department has also issued a moderate to high flash flood warning for Solan, Mandi, Sirmaur, and Kangra districts for the next 24 hours. An orange weather warning has been issued for Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Solan, and Sirmaur districts for June 29, resulting in heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated parts of these districts.

On June 29, a yellow weather warning was issued for the Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, and Chamba districts, resulting in heavy rain and thunderstorms at isolated places. Orange and yellow weather warnings were also issued for several districts of the state on June 30.