20 still missing after Uttarakhand landslide

Rudraprayag, August 5

Rescuers on Saturday looked for 20 people who remained missing at rain-hit Gaurikund on the Kedarnath route following a landslide triggered by flashfloods two days ago. Three bodies were earlier recovered.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami could not visit the area on Saturday due to inclement weather and sent the Disaster Management Secretary and the Garhwal Commissioner to take stock of the situation. Flashfloods had washed away three shops 50 metres above a raging Mandakini river on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.

According to district disaster management officer Nandan Singh Rajwar, while the bodies of three Nepalese nationals were recovered on Friday, the search was on for the remaining 20 people. Earlier the officials had said that 17 people were still missing.