Three earth-moving machine operators killed in landslide on Uttarakhand highway

Three heavy earth moving machine operators were killed after being hit by rocks and boulders during a landslide on the Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway-58 in Uttarakhand early Monday, officials said.

The three men were working at a construction site of the Chardham all-weather road project between Kaudilaya and Vyasi, Narendranagar Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Yukta Mishra said.

The vehicles fell into a deep gorge and the bodies are being recovered from under the debris, she said.

The area has been witnessing heavy rains for the past few days and landslides are common during this time of the year in the hill state.

One of the earth movers was being operated by two persons and the other had one operator, Mishra said, adding that they died on the spot.

The Ganga river, which flows below the gorge, is also in spate, the officer said.

Several highways, including sections of the NH-58, are part of the under-construction Chardham road project in the state.

Prabhat and Rajesh, who were operating one of the earthmovers, and Sanjiv Kumar, who was in the other vehicle, were killed in the landslide. They were from Pathankot in Punjab, Mishra said.