Uttarakhand: Five pilgrims killed as landslide debris falls on car in Rudraprayag

Uttarakhand landslide: Five pilgrims were killed after their car was buried under the debris of a landslide at Tarsali under Chowki Phata in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district.

The victims, including one from Gujarat, were on their way to Kedarnath when the incident occurred on Thursday evening, according to officials.

"A 60-meter portion of the Kedarnathgya highway collapsed due to heavy debris falling from the hill with boulders in Tarsali. During this, a vehicle was buried in the debris here," they stated.

"A vehicle buried under the debris was found on Friday, from which five bodies were recovered. One of the deceased was a Gujarat resident."

Further investigation is underway.

According to officials, the accident also resulted in a closure of the Guptkashi-Gaurikund highway leading to Kedarnath Dham for traffic on Friday, with approximately 60 metres of the road extensively damaged and swept away.

According to Rudraprayag police, individuals and passengers are being obstructed by police stations in the lower area (Chowki Jawadi, Kotwali Rudraprayag, Chowki Tilwada, Thana Agastyamuni, and Kakdagad).

For the past few days, many districts in the state, including Rudraprayag, have experienced nonstop rain.

From August 11 to August 14, the Meteorological Department issued a 'Red' and an 'Orange' alert in most of Uttarakhand's districts.