Rolling boulders kill 2 bikers from Hyderabad in Uttarakhand

Gopeshwar/Hyderabad: Two tourists from Hyderabad died in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Saturday after being hit by boulders following a landslide, police said.

According to reports reaching here, the accident took place on the Badrinath national highway near Chatwapeepal between Gauchar and Karnaprayag. The dead have been identified as Nirmal Shahi (36) and Satya Narayana (50). They were on their way back from Himalayan temple on a motorcycle when they were hit by boulders rolling down the hill, according to the police. Officials said their bodies have been taken out of the rubble.

Badrinath has been witnessing heavy rains for the past few days and the highway was blocked many times due to landslides. The areas where landslides had taken past in the last one week are said to be Rudraprayag, Bhanir Pani near Pipalkoti, Pagalnala, between Joshimath and Badrinath and Kanchanganga National Highways Authority of India and Border Roads Organisation personnel are busy clearing the roads.

The Rudraprayag-Kedarnath national highway is also blocked owing to a landslide. Even all government and private schools in Rudraprayag district have been shut on Saturday as a precautionary measure. IMD said a red alert for "heavy to very heavy rainfall" has been issued for both the Kumaon and Garhwal regions for Saturday and Sunday. People have been advised not to go near water bodies during this period.