Nine of 51 Assam pilgrims in Uttarakhand found safe

The Assam government has set up helplines to gather information about people from the state stranded in Uttarakhand. So far, 51 people were registered this way and nine of them were found safe, a senior official said Thursday.

Assam Home Secretary G.D. Tripathi said the state government has activated three helplines to gather information on how many pilgrims from the state had gone to Uttarakhand on visits to shrines there.

"So far, we have come to know that 51 people from various parts of the state were travelling in Uttarakhand. They are stranded in different locations. We have contacted the Uttarakhand government, and nine of them have been located so far. They are all right. We hope to gather information about the others by today (Thursday) evening." Tripathi said.

Three telephone lines -- 0361-2380620, 0361-2381511 and 0361-2380624 -- have been activated for pilgrims from Assam in Uttarakhand.

"Families and friends of those who have been stranded in flood-affected states could contact these numbers and register information about the person travelling. We have collected information of 51 people through these numbers and sent their details to Uttarakhand. The Uttarakhand government worked very fast and located nine of them so far. The search is on to trace the others," the home secretary said.

A team of senior officials from the state government will also set out for the hill state, affected by torrential rains that began last weekend. Landslides and floods in Uttarakhand have left about 60,000 people stranded.