1,500 pilgrims evacuated from Kedarnath trek route after Chirbasa landslide
About 1,500 pilgrims stranded near the Chirbasa helipad on the Kedarnath trek route were evacuated to Gaurikund after a landslide and continuous rockfalls, officials said.
About 1,500 pilgrims who were stranded along the Kedarnath trek route after a landslide were evacuated to safety, officials said on Monday.
The pilgrims were stuck late on Sunday night in the Chirbasa area, roughly three kilometres beyond Gaurikund, after debris from a landslide piled up on the road near the Chirbasa helipad. Continuous rockfalls from the hillside made any movement along the stretch extremely hazardous.
Acting on information received by the Sonprayag police, a State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team from Sonprayag, led by Sub-Inspector Ashish Dimri, reached the spot and assessed the situation. A joint rescue operation was then launched with the SDRF, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the District Disaster Response Force (DDRF).
Rescue personnel guided the pilgrims carefully across the landslide zone, escorted them to the other side and sent them onward to Gaurikund. All those stranded were brought to safety, the SDRF said in a statement.
Separately, the Char Dham Yatra in Uttarakhand remained suspended for a second consecutive day on Sunday because of incessant heavy rain, officials said.