Uttar Pradesh death toll rises to nine, 59 still missing

LUCKNOW : With the recovery of four more bodies, the death toll of UPites in Chamoli disaster in Uttarakhand rose to nine on Sunday. Among the four deceased, three Ved Prakash, Dhanushdhari, Sheshnath were residents of Gorakhpur district while the fourth Suraj Kushwaha belonged to Kushinagar district in eastern UP.

The four bodies will be sent to the native villages of the deceased after the post-mortem examination, said a state government spokesperson.

Uttar Pradesh relief commissioner Sanjay Goel said 59 people from Uttar Pradesh were still missing. The emergency control room established by the state government in various districts received information about 93 missing people on Wednesday.

“After verification by the various government agencies. the list of the total missing people has been revised to 91,” he added. “Among the 91 people, the government agencies have been able to locate and rescue 23 missing persons while nine have died and 59 persons are still missing,” he said.

“Among the still missing ones, 30 are from Lakhimpur Kheri, 10 from Saharanpur, 5 from Shravasti, 2 from Rae Bareli and one each from Amroha, Azamgarh, Bulandshahr, Chandauli, Gorakhpur, Deoria, Kushinagar, Mathura, Mirzapur, Moradabad, Shahjahanpur and Sonbhadra districts,” Goel said.

The officers deputed by the state government in Uttarakhand to coordinate with local administration in searching the missing people from Uttar Pradesh are regularly updating the Uttarakhand government and the family members about the missing ones.

“Those who have been traced have returned home. The officers are also updating the UP government about the missing people and search operation,” said a state government spokesperson.