In Delhi, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said the death toll in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand may cross the 1,000 mark after the debris are cleared.
Uttarakhand Disaster Management Minister Yashpal Arya had yesterday said that at “At least 5,000 people must have been killed in the deluge that inflicted heavy damage on vast tracts of land especially in Kedarnath valley”.
“About 5000 people are yet to be evacuated from Badrinath and not even a single chopper has so far been able to take off from Sahasradhara helipad here to rescue stranded pilgrims at the shrine and affected pockets adjacent to it,” Retd Wing Commander Capt R S Brar, who has been entrusted with the task of overseeing air rescue operations, told PTI.
