Kedarnath natural disaster victim reunited with family

An elderly labourer who had gone missing in the 2013 Kedarnath natural distaster was reunited with his family on Wednesday, police said.

Chamoli SP Yashwant Singh Chauhan said Jamil Ahmed Ansari belonged to Sitarganj in the state and was working at Lambagad when the tragedy struck.

He lost contact with his family after the natural disaster due to partial memory loss, the SP said, adding that Ansari was reunited with his kin under Operation Smile.

The SP said Ansari lived for six years at an old-age home in Gopeshwar as he could not tell his name and address properly.

Later, when he started regaining his memory, he told the authorities that he had come to Joshimath from Sitarganj in search of work in 2009 and was working as a labourer at Lambagad in 2013 when the tragedy struck.

Police then launched efforts to trace his family, the SP said.

His family was traced with the help of social media.

Ansari has a wife, two daughters and two sons, the SP said.