2 palanquin-bearers from J&K carrying pilgrim killed in landslide on Kedarnath trek route
Dehradun: Two palanquin-bearers from
Jammu and Kashmir
died on Wednesday after a landslide struck near Jungle Chatti along the Kedarnath trek route. They were carrying a pilgrim at the time, who survived with minor injuries.
Three others, including two more palanquin-bearers and a pilgrim from Gujarat, were injured after being knocked down into a gorge by the falling debris.
Nitin Kumar and Chandra Shekhar, both from Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir, died after falling in the gorge. The injured, Sandeep Kumar, 22, and Aakash Chitriya, 40, also from Doda, and Nitin Manhas, 16, a pilgrim from Bhavnagar, Gujarat, were rescued and taken to the Base Hospital in Srinagar for treatment.
District disaster management officer, Nandan Singh Rajwar, said, "Huge boulders fell from the hillside with immense force around 11.20am. Local police, the SDRF, and the district administration rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation."
A staff member from the Rudraprayag district disaster management office added, "All five were first brought to Gaurikund, and the three were then shifted to Base Hospital."
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The Kedarnath valley has experienced heavy rainfall in recent days. Jungle Chatti, located 4 km from Gaurikund, is a known landslide-prone area on the 16-km trek to the shrine. Heavy rain last Sunday had also triggered landslides in the area, leading authorities to halt the yatra for a day as helicopter services remained suspended after the chopper crash near Kedarnath that killed seven people. During the 2024 monsoon, portions of the Jungle Chatti trail were washed away and took weeks to repair.
In light of recent incidents, the district administration has urged pilgrims to check weather forecasts before starting their journey and to proceed with caution.
Since the start of the Char Dham yatra, around 130 people have died, with most deaths caused by health complications such as cardiac arrest. Over 60 of those fatalities occurred on the Kedarnath route alone.
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