One Dead, Four Missing After Arunachal Flash Floods

Itanagar: Rescue teams pulled the body of 35-year-old teacher Nirmala Gupta from the mud on Wednesday. She was one of five people swept away when a flash flood and debris flow hammered the NEEPCO Colony in Keyi Panyor district. Four others, Elesh Marak, Balari Marak, Tao Anjina, and Sourav Kumar, remain missing.

The search continues. NDRF, SDRF, local police, and fire crews are combing the colony and the river downstream. Government officials confirmed the dire status of the recovery efforts as the monsoon season turns violent. Monsoon rains have snapped road links in six western Arunachal districts: Upper Subansiri, Kamle, Lower Subansiri, Kurung Kumey, Kra Daadi, and Keyi Panyor.

Landslides choked the Kimin route and the highway junction connecting the capital region to Hoj and Yazali. The storm took out the Hoj bridge and the critical link between Pakke Kessang and East Kameng. The Border Roads Organisation and the Highway Department sent crews to clear the rubble. They are working to restore access to the cut-off interior zones.