Two labourers were killed, and seven others feared dead after a landslide, triggered by a cloudburst, struck their campsite near Silai Bend on the Yamunotri National Highway in Uttarkashi in the early hours of Sunday, police said. The incident took place at around 1 am, approximately 5 km ahead of Paligad in Barkot tehsil on the national highway. Twenty nine people were present at the campsite when the landslide struck. Of these, 20 were moved to safety. Two killed, seven feared dead after landslide triggered by cloudburst hits campsite in Uttarkashi

The bodies of Duje Lal (55), a resident of Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh; Keval Bisht (43), a resident of Nepal were recovered.

“Around 3 am, we were informed that a landslide struck a campsite of labourers involved in construction of a hotel. Of the 29 people at the campsite, 20 were rescued. Two bodies have been recovered, while seven are still missing,” Uttarkashi district magistrate (DM) Prashant Kumar Arya said. Rescue teams are searching for the missing people at a war footing, he said.

Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami asked officials to remain on alert mode for two monsoon months, and also suspended the Char Dham yatra for a day amid a heavy rain alert issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for the state.

Garhwal commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey said the decision to halt the Char Dham yatra was taken in view of the safety of pilgrims amid heavy rainfall posing the risk of landslides.

“The district administrations have been put on alert and rescue and relief teams have been activated,” he said. He said the decision to resume the yatra will be taken upon reviewing the weather conditions and status of roads on Monday morning.

The IMD has issued a red alert, forecasting “Heavy to very Heavy rain/very intense to extremely intense spell of rain is likely to occur at few places in Dehradun, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal, Haridwar, Nainital, Champawat and Udham Singh Nagar districts….”

“An orange alert has been issued for remaining districts for Monday. Landslides in hills, water level in rivers, streams, water logging in low lying areas can be reported. The people living in vulnerable areas should remain vigilant. If not necessary, travels should be avoided,” said IMD Dehradun director Bikram Singh.

In Uttarkashi, overnight rains led to disruption of key routes, with both the Yamunotri and Gangotri national highways being affected.

The Yamunotri national highway was blocked near Paligad, Kuthnaur, and Jhajjaragad. Similarly, the Gangotri national highway was blocked near Netala, Bishanpur, Laldhang, and Naluna, out of which the road strech near Bishanpur was opened after an effort of over two hours, said the district disaster management officials.

Meanwhile, more than a dozen families of Chukum village of Ramnagar in Nainital district have shifted to safer places in the wake of floods. Jasi Ram, 55, a former village head of Chukum said, “We have been facing flood problems for a long time. Villagers are demanding a concrete solution of the floods..”