This Article is From Oct 13, 2016

Human Remains Found Again Near Kedarnath Shrine 3 Years After Tragedy

Human Remains Found Again Near Kedarnath Shrine 3 Years After Tragedy

Thousands of people had gone missing after the flash floods in Uttarakhand in 2013.

Dehradun: More than three years after the 2013 flash floods which killed thousands of people in Uttarakhand and left a trail of devastation, some human skeletal remains have been found in a thickly forested area there.

The locals say it could belong to some of the pilgrims, many of whom remained missing.

The authorities said while nothing definite is known yet, they are not ruling out any possibility.

"Officially only 360 skeletons were found in the wake of the tragedy, which claimed thousands of lives," said Rudraprayag District Magistrate Raghav Langer.

"It is obvious that a majority of them remained untraced. The pilgrims must have run in different directions for life and died in far removed pockets."

A combined team of police and State Disaster Response Force personnel has been formed to visit the densely forested area around Triyuginarayan and verify the facts, Mr Langer told PTI.

At this point, it is not even known the remains of how many persons have been found, Mr Langer said.

"From the sketchy information available, it seems the
location is far from human habitation and it is too early to say anything with a measure of certainty," the DM said.

The 2013 disaster had left a trail of death and devastation at the Himalayan shrine and areas close to it. Last year in June, more remains were found in a structure near the Kedarnath temple. They were cremated the same day after DNA sampling and the necessary legal formalities.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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