Seven bodies recovered two months after Rudraprayag rains

Two months after a deadly cloudburst devastated Chenagad village in Uttarakhand, the bodies of seven of the nine missing people have been recovered, bringing a measure of relief to anxious families.

The first two bodies were found on Friday, followed by five more on Saturday, as teams cleared landslide debris with heavy machinery. One of the deceased has been identified as 25-year-old Kuldeep Singh Negi, a forest worker from Uchhola village in Guptkashi. Search operations continue for the remaining two missing individuals.

The cloudburst on August 29 unleashed a torrent of rain, triggering landslides, flash floods, and massive damage across Chenagad. The Alaknanda and Mandakini rivers overflowed, sweeping away homes and infrastructure. Striking videos and images of the disaster, collapsed roads, submerged houses, and raging waters, went viral, capturing the scale of the tragedy.

Rescue efforts were slowed by blocked roads, debris, and the area’s challenging terrain. The district administration, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police, and local volunteers worked relentlessly to locate the missing. The recovery of the bodies, though delayed, provides some closure amid the aftermath of the catastrophe.