243 Pilgrims Rescued From Trek Route To Uttarakhand's Madmaheshwar Temple

Rescuers have safely evacuated 243 pilgrims who were stranded since Monday on the trek route to Madmaheshwar temple in rain-hit Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district following a bridge collapse.

The shrine which is part of the Panch Kedar group of temples in Uttarakhand is located at an altitude of 11,473 ft.

State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) personnel were pressed into service and 190 pilgrims were airlifted by a helicopter on Wednesday, while 53 were evacuated on Tuesday through the rope river crossing method, the state disaster control room said on Wednesday evening.

Around 290 pilgrims were stranded on the route on Monday when a bridge at Bantoli in Gaundar village broke down following heavy downpour. Incessant rains have been lashing various parts of the hill state causing landslides that demolished buildings and flooding rivers and streams whose swirling waters swept away people in separate incidents.

A temporary helipad was built with the help of locals at Nanu Khark, about seven km from the Madmaheshwar temple, from where the rescue operation was carried out, he said.

The pilgrims are being airlifted from Nanu Khark and dropped off at Ransi village from where they are returning on foot to their respective destinations.

Adequate food items have been made available at the Madmaheshwar temple to take care of stranded pilgrims and a medical team besides a police sub-inspector have been deputed at the spot, he said.

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