Uttarakhand: Wall crumbles in Rishikesh due to excessive rains; SDRF rescues two men stuck in debris

Two people were found stuck in the debris of a collapsed wall in Uttarakhand’s Rishikesh as excessive rains wreaked havoc in the hilly state.

The local authorities reached out to the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) for rescuing the two men, ANI reported on Thursday.

“SDRF was informed by District Control Room Rishikesh that a wall has collapsed near Chaurasi Kutiya in Laxman Jhula area. In which two persons are buried. SDRF team is required for rescue. On the above information SDRF rescue team reached the spot,” said the official statement quoted by ANI.

The statement further read, “It was told by the police officer from the spot that two persons were buried in the said incident, out of which one injured has been rescued. SDRF's search operation is on in search of another person.”

The wall had collapsed due to heavy rainfall in the area as severe waterlogging was reported in Dhalwala and Khara regions. Several houses also got submerged in water leaving the residents stranded.

A team of SDRF was called to rescue the stranded and they reached the spot at night. The team rescued about 50 people and took them to a safe place with the help of rafts.

Meanwhile, CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Wednesday the disaster control centre has examined the rain situation of the state. He has also advised the ‘Char Dham’ pilgrims to check the weather conditions before deciding to travel.