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| Leh cloudbursts: Death toll mounts to 150, 26 army men among 600 still missing | | Survivors and dead have holes in faces as common injury | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Aug 9: Virtually turned into the 'valley of death' after the devastating August 5 cloudbursts that led to the flattening of several villages and snapping of road and communication links, rescue operations today continued in full swing in the hitherto picturesque Leh and its surrounding areas.
As more bodies were dug out by rescue teams from underneath the rubble today, the death toll rose to 150 while 600 others, including 26 army personnel, outstation labourers and foreigners, were still missing.
Official sources told The Early Times that the traumatised survivors and the dead had holes in the faces and deep abrasions as common injuries. Almost all of them were caught in the mud.
Most of those pulled out from underneath the deep mud slushes and debris of the collapsed houses were outstation labourers and foreign tourists, the sources added, saying they were provided dressings and bandages were put on their cuts and bruises to prepare them for major surgeries.
As all BSNL equipment had been washed away in the flash floods, 35 satellite phones were despatched to Leh Sunday to ensure communication.
Nearly 7,000 army and 1,000 ITBP personnel were engaged in the rescue operation. They were struggling through the piles of slush and mud in search for the missing persons.
Sources said adequate quantity of food and other items of daily use were available in the makeshift camps at Leh.
Nine IAF planes had Sunday brought relief material including 5,000 blankets and 75 tarpaulins, besides a team of nurses.
Special flights of Indian Airlines, Jet Airways and Kingfisher were operating from Leh to Delhi to bring stranded tourists back.
Of the 114 foreigners still stuck at Zanskar, 36 were rescued and brought to Leh by IAF, sources said and added that 76 foreigners were stuck at Pang on the Leh-Manali road.
In Batalic sector, six foreigners were rescued by IAF. Sources said army and ITBP were trying their best to restore vehicular traffic at the earliest by repairing damaged roads and bridges.
Sources said the Srinagar-Leh road was blocked at Fayang, Basgo, Neemu and at some other places.
The rescue teams were being helped by locals and foreigners who were stranded there, the sources added.
The cloudbursts had done a lot of damage to the military establishment at Leh. Sources said 26 army personnel, and not 33 as reported by media earlier, had lost their lives in the catastrophic consequences of the cloudbursts and subsequent flash floods and mudslides.
Most of the 26 missing personnel were feared to have been buried under 20 to 25 feet of slush while a few could even have been washed away into the areas under Pakistan's control.
14 corps GOC, Lt Gen S K Singh said the cloudbursts had done a lot of damage to civilian as well as the military establishment.
He said culverts and bridges on the roads leading to many forward army locations had been washed away and it would take quite some time to re-build them.
Lt Gen Singh said the missing army personnel were posted at Tyakshi forward post in Turtuk sub-sector, about 150 mt from the border with Pakistan.
As too much of water got into one of the streams due to the cloudburst, it turned into a lake and breached the embankments, bringing the complete hillside down, he informed.
Singh said unlike in other places where the height of slush was 4 to 5 ft, it was about 20-25 feet at Tyakshi where the army post once stood.
He said army lost a total of 26 men, most of whom were believed to be buried under the debris. There was a possibility of some of them having been washed away into Pakistan as Shyok river flowed across the border, he added.
The Pak army had already been informed about the possibility of some army personnel being washed away there.
The missing personnel included two JCOs and 15 other ranks from Bihar Regiment and one JCO and eight others from Raj Rifles.
The Lt Gen said rescue operation was yet to be carried out there as roads had been completely destroyed.
Sources, however, said an aerial survey had been carried out and efforts were on to open the access points.
Army said it was hopeful of reopening the two national highways by the end of this week.
Sources said as per an estimate, seven bridges were needed on the Zijia access and four on the Rohtang access. Two bridges near Leh were opened today.
The reopening of roads was, however, a combination of human effort and nature's coordination, the sources added. |
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