Uttarakhand rains: IAF deploys one Chinook and one Mi-17V5 helicopter for rescue operation in Kedar Valley

The Indian Air Force has deployed one Chinook and Mi-17V5 helicopter to carry out human assistance and relief operations in the Kedar valley of Uttarakhand. They will be working in coordination with the state government authorities, said Defence officials.

Heavy rains have severely damaged the route in the Rudraprayag district on Wednesday night. The rescue and relief work to evacuate the people stranded is underway.

According to the Uttarakhand police, as many as 737 people were rescued by helicopter and at least 2,670 people were taken to Sonprayag by the relief forces as of Thursday.

Taking to its official handle on X, Uttarakhand police posted, "The rescue work of people stranded on the Shri Kedarnath Dham Yatra route is continuing. 737 passengers were rescued by helicopter throughout the day."

"2,670 passengers were taken to Sonprayag. SDRF, NDRF, DDRF, District Police and Administration teams are selflessly helping the devotees," read the post.

Earlier, Abhinav Kumar, Director General of Police, Uttarakhand, gave information about the relief and rescue operations after heavy rains in the state and appealed to the people of the state and travellers to be cautious and follow the instructions of the officials.

Amid heavy rainfall in Tehri and Rudraprayag districts, Uttarakhand DGP Abhinav Kumar informed on Thursday that the Kedarnath Yatra has been suspended for two days due to weather conditions and 12 NDRF, as well as 60 SDRF teams, are engaged in rescue work.

Speaking to on the situation created by heavy rains in Tehri and Rudraprayag districts, Uttarakhand Director General of Police Abhinav Kumar said on Thursday, "We had received an alert from the Meteorological Department about heavy rains in the state for 48 hours. Given this alert, the police, NDRF, SDRF and local administration were put on alert. After the rain started last night, we started getting reports of landslides, rock falls, etc. from various areas."

Notably, the Kedarnath Yatra has been stopped for the time being given the safety of the passengers due to landslides at many places on the Kedarnath footpath.

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