On 15th August, some pilgrims arrived at Madmaheshwar dham for darshan and pooja. Due to the heavy rains, the only bridge connecting Madhmaheshwar to the road was washed away. This left over 500 stranded amid rains and possible flooding.
The State Disaster Recovery Force (SDRF) arranged a helicopter for rescue but there was no helipad in Madmaheshwar. This made helicopter rescue impossible.
However, the women of Madmaheshwar started working and created a temporary helipad within a few hours.
By August 16th, 293 people were rescued from the area using helicopter and river crossing method (see image below). The river crossing rescue had already started on August 15th.
Rudraprayag Police has issued videos of both rescues.
River crossing method
मदमहेश्वर घाटी में अतिवृष्टि के कारण ग्राम गौंडार में पैदल मार्ग को जोड़ने वाला पुल एवं मार्ग का कुछ हिस्सा बहने के वहाँ पर गये यात्री फंस गये थे। सूचना के उपरान्त एसडीआरएफ और डीडीआरएफ की टीमें वहाँ पहुँच गयी थी। pic.twitter.com/aWmDE9IEue
— Rudraprayag Police Uttarakhand (@RudraprayagPol) August 15, 2023
Helicopter Rescue
Featured Image: Women making the temporary helipad at Madmaheshwar. Image credits unknown.