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| Leh cloudburst: Rescuers search for 600 missing persons, toll rises to 142 | | Two brothers of Doda among 11 dead flown from Leh to Udhampur | | EArly Times Report
JAMMU, Aug 8 : As relief and rescue work continued on war footing in the cloudburst-ravaged Leh on the third day today with 11 bodies being dug out from underneath the debris of the collapsed houses, Britain revised its travel advisory to India, asking its citizens to avoid travelling to all rural areas of Jammu and Kashmir.
Germany, however, thanked India for its efforts to search for German nationals, about 100 of whom were stranded there while expressing grief over the loss of lives in the catastrophic consequences of the cloudburst and the subsequent flash floods and heavy rains.
While official sources said only 122 bodies had been recovered so far, unofficial reports put the number of dead at 142. All communication links to Leh were snapped and power supply was also badly disrupted due the snapping of lines.
Sources said 35 satellite phones had been despatched to Leh by the Centre to enable the authorities to remain in touch with the outside world. The road communication link was also unusable due to the washing away of the Srinagar-Leh and Leh-Manali roads at several places.
Sources said with weather showing signs of improving, relief and rescue operations were carried out on war footing on Sunday. The bodies of two brothers and nine more persons were pulled out from underneath the debris today and flown to Udhampur in AN-32 plane of IAF along with an injured. Seven of the dead belonged to Doda and one each to Kishtwar, Samba, Pathankote and Rajasthan, the sources added.
At Udhampur, the bodies were received by local MLA and senior police and civil officers. Later, these were despatched their homes by road.
Nine of the dead were identified as Pritam Singh, his brother Pradeep Singh, sons of Paras Ram of Jodhpur, Doda, Shiv Lal, son of Naib Chand of Gundana, Doda, Imran Malik, son of Abdullah Malik of Jagota, Doda, Mohammad Hanief, son of Abdul Rashid Malik of Hanch, Doda, Javed Ahmad, son of Mohammad Ramzan of Hanch, Ishtiaq Ahmad, son of Ghulam Hassan of Jagota, Ghulam Nabi Rather, son of Abdullah Rather of Keshwan, Kishtwar, and Roshan Lal, son of Hans Raj of Sargal, Samba.
After post-mortem at local hospitals, the bodies were handed over to their families for last rites.
The injured, who was airlifted to Udhampur, was identified as Bharat Bhushan, son of Sher Chnad of Jodhpur. He was hospitalised. All of them worked as labourers at Leh, the sources added. Due to cloudbursts at Leh Thursday night, flash floods had sent rivers of mud down desert mountainsides. At least 600 people, including 31 army personnel and some foreign tourists, were said to be missing.
The death toll was likley to increase further as the rescue teams were yet to reach several inaccessible villages of Leh and Choglamsar, which had Thursday night bore the brunt of the cloudbursts. At least 400 injured, who had been rescued, were admitted to army general hospital at Leh. The other rescued people had been kept in the makeshift camps as their houses were flattened in flash floods.
People from low-lying areas of Leh had also moved to the makeshift camps, the sources added. Sources said the tri-service disaster management coordination group, which met at South Block in the morning, further reviewed the progress in rescue and relief operations and decided to earmark special service aircraft to carry 19 VSATs and a set of other equipment of BSNL to Leh so that mobile and telecom connectivity could be restored at Leh and its adjoining areas at the earliest.
Two INMARSATs had also been provided to Leh administaration for meeting immediate communication requirements, the sources added. Sources said the BSNL services were to be restored by tonight. Nine IAF planes carried relief to Leh in the afternoon, the sources added.
Defence Minister A K Antony, who is monitoring the rescue and relief efforts, was briefed by the Disaster Management Coordination Group about the steps being taken to provide succour to the victims.
Meanwhile, a news report from Delhi said Britain today revised its travel advisory to India due to the catastrophic flash floods in Leh and advised its citizens to avoid travelling to all rural areas in Jammu and Kashmir.
It said, "There have been flash floods in and around the Leh area of northern India. Initial reports indicate that many people have been killed or are missing. Communications networks have been seriously affected. The Leh-Manali and Leh-Srinagar roads are currently closed and you should not attempt to drive them. A rescue operation by Indian police and armed forces is underway. British nationals in the affected area should follow local advice."
Asking British citizens to monitor local and international weather updates for details of impending weather depressions which are common at this time of year, the revised advisory cautioned against all travel to rural areas of Jammu and Kashmir other than Ladakh.
"There are increased indications that terrorists are planning attacks in New Delhi where Commonwealth Games were due from October 3 to 14," it said. |
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