Rescue operations are underway in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district after a flash flood and mudslide.
Hundreds of people have been rescued and airlifted to safety, but many are still missing.
Blocked highways and large debris piles are complicating the search and rescue efforts.
Following the flash flood and mudslide on Tuesday, the army and the disaster management forces continue the rescue operation in Uttrakhand’s Uttarkashi.
Today, 65 people who were trapped near Uttarkashi were brought to the Matli helipad by helicopter.
Buses were arranged to transport them to their destinations. On August 6, around 190 people were rescued from Dharali town. Rescue teams also recovered two bodies from the site on Wednesday, reported PTI.
According to the Army, seventy civilians have been rescued so far and more than 50 are missing. Nine Army personnel, one junior commissioned officer and eight jawans are also reported missing.
Nine Army personnel and three civilians were evacuated to Dehradun by helicopter. Three critically injured civilians were shifted to AIIMS Rishikesh and eight were admitted to the Uttarkashi district hospital.
Road access is severely disrupted at multiple locations, including Bartwari, Linchigad, near Harsil, Gangnani and Dharali. Civilian and military teams are working round the clock to rescue stranded people, provide relief and restore connectivity, the Army personnel told PTI.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached Uttarkashi on August 6 to monitor the operations. He interacted with the rescue team and with some of the rescued individuals, who included pilgrims.
The CM also held a meeting with Border Roads Organisation (BRO) officials and took stock of the rescue operations in Dharali.
One of the rescued tourists, Bhupendra Singh Mehta, told PTI how the flash floods washed away everything in sight. "We were asleep when the flash floods hit. We woke up to people shouting, 'run, run'. Everything around our homestay was washed away and the debris had come up to our window on the second floor. We jumped from the second floor and managed to crawl to a bridge and save ourselves," he said.
Authorities have prioritised the safe evacuation of stranded pilgrims from Gangotri Dham. Jalgaon Collector Ayush Prasad told PTI that 16 people from Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district remain untraceable.
While there is no official count of the missing, locals have claimed hundreds could be buried under the debris.
The missing may include locals, tourists, and labourers from hotel construction sites. Eleven Army personnel from a camp in Harsil are also among the missing.
According to reports, the Badrinath National Highway has been blocked due to debris falling from a hillside near Pipalkoti. Landslides have also blocked roads leading to Dharali, where homes and cars were swept away.
SDRF IG Arun Mohan Joshi said, "Our priority today is to airlift advanced equipment to the spot. Our teams coming with advanced equipment on Wednesday were held up due to blocked roads. There are 50 to 60-ft-high mounds of debris and those missing may be trapped under them."qouted PTI.
The rescue operation involves the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and police.
SDRF IG Arun Mohan Joshi said that the priority is to airlift advanced equipment to the location to search through mounds of debris that are 50 to 60 feet high. He stated there could be 300-400 pilgrims stranded at different locations due to blocked roads.
Officials said ground-penetrating radars and sniffer dogs are likely to be used to find the missing, quoted PTI.
Besides locals and tourists, the missing may include labourers as several hotels were under construction at the site of the flash floods.
Dharali is the main stopover on the way to Gangotri, from where the Ganga originates, and is home to several hotels and home stays.
