One dead as boulder falls on bus in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli

One person died when a boulder fell on a bus near the Lambagad area of Chamoli district in Uttarakhand on Tuesday morning, officials said.

The district’s disaster management officer Nand Kishore Joshi said 11 people were travelling on the bus, which was passing through the landslide-prone area of Lambagad, when boulders from the mountains fell on the bus.

“Three people have been rescued from the bus and five are feared dead, but it has not been confirmed yet. Rescue work is underway,” Joshi said.

Thousands of visitors were left stranded in the region after six bridges collapsed on Tuesday amid heavy downpour. Apart from the bridges, a portion of the kitchen of a primary school also collapsed after the rains.

Rescue teams have been rushed to the areas where the extent of the damage is said to be heavy.

Another incident of cloudburst was reported from Patharkatta village in the Gairsain block of the district. Officials said there was no report of any injuries.

Last month, around 600 pilgrims on their way to the Badrinath shrine were stranded after the highway was blocked for over 12 hours following a landslide near Lambagad.

The India Meteorological Department on Tuesday morning had issued an orange alert warning that heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated places in Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Nainital, Pauri and Dehradun districts of the state in the next 24 hours.

First Published: Aug 06, 2019 12:08 IST