Three of family killed in cloudburst in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi

Three members of a family, including a mother-daughter duo, were killed while one person was reportedly missing after a cloudburst hit two adjacent villages in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district, officials said on Monday.

Those killed in the incident that took place on Sunday night in Mandav village were identified as Madhuri Devi (36), Ritu Devi (32) and her three-year-old daughter Trishvi, Uttarakashi's Disaster Management Officer Devendra Patwal said, adding that all the bodies have been recovered.

One person is reported to be missing after the cloudburst in the neighbouring Kankrari village. A search operation is underway to find him, he said.

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Police and State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) personnel launched rescue operations in the affected areas immediately after being informed and succeeded in rescuing most of the people trapped in slush.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief over the loss of lives in the incident and asked the Uttarkashi District Magistrate to carry out relief and rescue operations in the affected areas on priority.

Meanwhile, two labourers who got stranded in a tunnel of the Chibro hydel project in Vikasnagar area of Dehradun district on Sunday evening are still trapped there. Efforts are underway to rescue them, Kalsi police station incharge Rituraj Singh said.

They had fainted inside the tunnel due to lack of oxygen, he said.

Most of the rivers in Uttarakhand, including Ganga, Yamuna, Bhagirathi, Alaknanda, Mandakini, Pindar, Nandakini, Tons, Saryu, Gori, Kali and Ramganga, are in spate following intermittent rains over the last three days, the State Emergency Operation Centre here informed.

A constant vigil on them is being maintained, it said.