Gaurikund accident: 2 more bodies recovered, death toll rises to 7, search on for remaining 16 people

Bodies of a girl and a woman were recovered by the rescue team from the site where the landslide occurred in Gaurikund a week ago. With this, seven bodies have been recovered while 16 are still reported missing.

Rudraprayag (Uttarakhand): The rescue team recovered two more bodies from the site where landslide occurred in Gaurikund area in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district a week ago. This has taken the total death toll in the incident to seven while 16 people are still reported to be missing.

Of the two bodies recovered this morning, one is a girl and the other a woman. The process for identification of the bodies is on, officials said.

The landslide took place on the intervening night of August 3 and 4 wherein three shops near Datpulia, some distance from Gaurikund market, were washed away into the Mandakini River. When the accident occurred, some people were sleeping inside the shops. Following the landslide, these shops fell into the river, which was in spate.

According to Rudraprayag Police, nearly 23 people were reported missing after the accident. Of which seven bodies have been recovered so far and 16 people are still reported missing. "The search operation in Gaurikund is continuing. Two bodies were recovered from the spot this morning taking the death toll to seven. The teams are constantly engaged in undertaking rescue operation in the Mandakini River," police said.

Teams from District Disaster Response Force (DDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Yatra Management Force (YMF) along with officials from the police, fire brigade and administration reached the spot immediately after the disaster struck.

A rescue operation for the missing people was launched on the spot and the nearby areas since the early hours of August 4. Among the 23 people who went missing, 17 were from Nepal. Three bodies were recovered a few hours after accident.