Uttarakhand cloudburst: 3 more bodies recovered, death toll rises to 18

Dehradun: Three more bodies were recovered from the debris in the cloudburst-hit villages of Pithoragarh, raising the death toll in rain-related incidents in the state to 18 while searches were on for as many missing people by the Army, para-military and police personnel.

According to the Disaster Mitigation Centre here, three more bodies were recovered from Bastadi and Nauleda villages of Pithoragarh district taking the toll from cloudburst in the wee hours of Friday to 15.

The number of recovered bodies swept away by flashfloods in Chamoli continues to be 3 and the total fatalities from both districts located far apart from each other currently is 18.

Indian Army troops carry out rescue and relief works in the villages affected by cloudbursts in Chamoli and Pithoragarh districts of Uttarakhand. (Photo: PTI)

Overcoming hindrances posed by the weather with intermittent rains lashing most parts of the state, Army, para-military and police personnel continued their rescue and search operations in the affected areas, ADG (law and order) Anil Raturi said.

"However, he made it clear that there was no report of any untoward incident caused by the rains today from anywhere. NDRF, SDRF, ITBP and the state police are working round- the-clock looking for any traces of life trapped under the debris," the official said.

He said the Army had recovered an elderly woman alive from Pithoragarh yesterday and has shared the information on Twitter.

President Pranab Mukherjee wrote to Governor K K Paul expressing grief at the loss of lives in the recent spell of rains whereas Congress President Sonia Gandhi had a telephonic talk with Chief Minister Harish Rawat during which she took stock of the situation.