Rudraprayag (Uttarakhand) [India], June 11 (ANI): The Uttarakhand State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team rescued 5 people who were stranded across the river near Lincholi on June 10 at 10:50 pm, according to a press release from SDRF.

On receiving the information, the SDRF team under the leadership of Sub Inspector Jitendra Singh from Post Lincholi immediately left for the spot with necessary rescue equipment.

On enquiry, the SDRF team found that a total of 6 people, who are residents of Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh), were going towards Garudchatti via a shortcut route after visiting Shri Kedarnath ji. While crossing the river near the Rambada area, one of them, Rahul (22), was swept away in the strong current.

On receiving the information, the DDRF Bhimbali team searched for the youth, but due to extreme darkness and strong currents, the youth could not be traced. The remaining 5 people could not cross the river and got stuck there.

The SDRF team immediately reached the spot and, along with DDRF, reached the youths through an alternate route from Garudachatti, which was inaccessible due to extreme darkness and the strong flow of the river. The team safely brought the five youths to the main road and handed them over to Lincholi's police post.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Uttarakhand State Disaster Response Force rescued two tourists stranded near the Chhoti Lincholi glacier point on their way back from Kedarnath, said an official statement.

The incident occurred after the pilgrims, returning from their visit to Kedarnath Dham, attempted to take a shortcut and lost their way.

The SDRF team, led by Sub Inspector Jitendra Singh from Post Lincholi, received the alert from the Disaster Control Room, Rudraprayag, and immediately mobilised to the location.

Upon arrival, the team initiated a search operation and soon located the stranded individuals on a rocky hillside along the riverbank.

According to people at the scene, a group of five pilgrims had deviated from the main route in an attempt to descend quickly via an uncharted path along the river. While three of them managed to return safely, two people named Dharamveer (28) and Shaili Singh (27), both residents of Delhi were trapped on a rocky hill as there was no further path. (ANI)