Person found dead after house collapses in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli; 3 rescued

Chamoli: A person was found dead after a house collapsed near subsidence-hit Joshimath in Chamoli district, officials said on Wednesday. According to the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the incident occurred in Helang village on the Badrinath highway between Pipalkoti and Joshimath on Tuesday late evening.

Kotwali Joshimath informed the SDRF that a two-storey house built near a crusher unit on the banks of the Alaknanda River had collapsed, with some locals feared trapped under the debris, officials said. The SDRF team reached the spot to find four people buried under the debris of the collapsed house. Subsequently, the SDRF team rescued 3 people and rushed them to a nearby hospital while another died on the spot.

The victim’s mortal remains were recovered from under the debris and handed over to the district police, officials said. According to the SDRF, seven labourers were present in the house when the incident took place. ‘Seven labourers were present in the house when the incident took place. Three of them were rescued and admitted to a hospital’, an official said. Searches were underway for other trapped locals, if any.

According to official estimates, 52 people died due to rain-related incidents in the state this monsoon season while another 37 sustained injuries. On the instructions of Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami, SDRF and NDRF personnel were deployed in places badly affected by rain-related incidents. Heavy rains in Uttarakhand this monsoon have triggered landslides and flash floods in several places. Badrinath National Highway has been blocked in several areas of the Chamoli district, as a result of heavy rainfall in the state, officials said on Tuesday.

According to Chamoli Police, the highway was blocked at Pipalkoti, Gadora, Navodaya Vidyalaya Pipalkoti, Gulabkoti, Pagalnala and Vishnuprayag areas of the Chamoli district. On Monday, the highway was blocked and several vehicles were buried under debris falling from the mountain in Pipalkoti after a landslide was triggered following intermittent rainfall.