Uttarakhand avalanche: 14 more labourers rescued, 8 remain trapped
Dehradun (PTI): Rescuers pulled out 14 more labourers from the snow that engulfed a BRO camp in the high-altitude Mana village in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district as search operations resumed at the site of the avalanche on Saturday, officials said. Eight workers remain trapped.
With the evacuation of the 14 labourers, 47 of the 55 labourers who were trapped under the avalanche, which hit the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp between Mana and Badrinath early on Friday morning, have been rescued. Thirty-three had been rescued by Friday night.
Rain and snowfall hampered the rescue efforts on Friday and the operation was suspended as the night fell.
As the weather cleared up on Saturday, choppers joined the operation.
District Disaster Management Officer N K Joshi said Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel based in Mana resumed the rescue operation in the morning.
According to the officials, the rescue teams pulled out 14 more labourers from the snow while a search is on for the remaining eight who have been trapped for more than 24 hours now.
Three of the labourers who were rescued on Friday in critical condition and were undergoing treatment at the ITBP hospital in Mana were airlifted to the Jyotirmath Army Hospital, Chamoli District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari said.
"We hope the clear weather will speed up the rescue operation," he said.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is also likely to visit the avalanche site.
According to a list released by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority, the trapped labourers are from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir, among other states. The list has 10 labourers' names, without mentioning the states they belong to.
Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said on Friday that more than 65 personnel are engaged in the rescue operation.
Located three kilometres from Badrinath, Mana is the last village on the India-Tibet border at a height of 3,200 metres.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
11-year-old dies by suicide after sexual assault in Bareilly; accused arrested
Bareilly (UP) (PTI): A 26-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl, who later died by suicide due to trauma, police said on Wednesday.
The post-mortem report confirmed sexual assault and multiple injuries on the minor's body, including bite marks and nail scratches. The cause of death was found to be hanging, they said.
According to ASP (South) Anshika Verma, the incident came to light on 27 April, when the girl, a Class 8 student, was found hanging at her home in Deoria Abdullaganj village under the Mirganj police station area. Initially, the family reported the death as suicide and was reluctant to pursue police action.
"The autopsy report changed the course of the investigation. It confirmed sexual assault and noted severe physical trauma. The cause of death was confirmed as hanging," Verma said.
A breakthrough in the case came from the statement of the victim's younger sister, who told police that the accused, Zeeshan (26), a resident of the same village, frequently loitered near the minor's school and allegedly gave her small sums of money to keep his interactions with her a secret, she said.
Police said that on the day of the incident, the accused allegedly lured the minor and assaulted her. Distressed by the incident, the child later took her own life while her mother was away, police said.
"Based on technical surveillance, CCTV footage, and statements from the family, we established Zeeshan's involvement. He was arrested near the Mirganj weekly market on Tuesday," they said.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the state’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416.)
