Uttarakhand Landslide: Three Pilgrims Dead, Eight Injured On Kedarnath Yatra Route

At least three people have lost their lives and eight others have been injured on the Kedarnath Yatra route in Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district after a landslide struck the area on Sunday (21 July) morning.

The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) reported that the landslide occurred near Chirbasa while the pilgrims were on foot, travelling from Gaurikund to the Kedarnath temple.

The victims were identified as Kishore Arun Parate from Nagpur, Maharashtra; Sunil Mahadev Kale from Jalna, Maharashtra; and Anurag Bisht from Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand, as per a report by The Indian Express.

Nandan Singh Rajwar, the Rudraprayag district disaster management officer (DDMO), stated that they received information about the pilgrims being trapped under the debris around 7:30 am.

Upon receiving the alert, the Rudraprayag district control room alerted the SDRF team, which instantly reached at the scene with Inspector Anirudh Singh Bhandari and the essential rescue equipment.

"The SDRF team reached the spot, evacuated the eight injured, and transported them to a hospital. The bodies of the deceased were handed over to the district police by the SDRF team," the SDRF reported.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased pilgrims who were en route to Kedarnath Dham.

Dhami in a post on X stated, "Relief and rescue work is ongoing at the site of the accident. I am constantly in touch with the officials in this regard."