One dead, 150 rescued in flood-hit Dharali; search on for dozens missing

A cloudburst in Dharali village, Uttarakhand, killed at least four and left many missing as flash floods and landslides devastated the area. While 150 people have been rescued, efforts continue amid inclement weather and blocked roads. Army and NDRF teams deployed.

Uttarakashi: A body was recovered and 150 people rescued from the flood-ravaged mountain village of Dharali on Wednesday as the search for the missing resumed amid huge challenges on a rain-drenched morning.

Landslides blocked arterial roads leading up to Dharali, where dozens of people were trapped and many homes and cars were swept away by the raging waters on Tuesday. Eleven Army personnel from the nearby camp in Harsil were among those missing.

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The person whose body was retrieved was identified as that of 35-year-old Akash Panwar, the Uttarkashi Disaster Control Room said.

Four people are confirmed killed in the disaster that struck the ecologically fragile area following a cloudburst on Tuesday afternoon. At least half of Dharali was buried under the fast-flowing mudslide of slush, rubble, and water. The village is the main stopover on the way to Gangotri, from where the Ganga originates, and is home to several hotels and home stays.

According to Mohsen Shahedi, NDRF deputy inspector general (DIG) operations, three teams of the federal contingency force are en route to Dharali but have been unable to get there because continuous landslides have blocked the Rishikesh -Uttarkashi highway. Dharali is about 140 km from Dehradun and usually a five-hour drive.

Two NDRF teams are to be airlifted from Dehradun but they can’t be moved as bad weather is preventing a successful sortie, Shahedi told reporters in Delhi. Teams of the Army, ITBP and state SDRF are undertaking rescue operations in the affected area and about 150 people have been rescued, he said. “We have been told that four people have been killed and about 50 are missing,” Shahedi said.

The Gangotri national highway is blocked at various points with a joint team of more than 200 rescue personnel waiting in Bhatwari for the route to open, added an official at the district emergency operation centre in Uttarkashi. A bridge built over Limaccha river at Gangnani on Gangotri NH was swept away by the flashflood leaving a team of rescue personnel stranded on way to Dharali.

As rescuers struggled to get to Dharali, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to get an update on the situation and assured him of the Centre’s assistance. Dhami held a meeting with officials at the State Emergency Operation Centre here to review the rescue efforts.

He surveyed the flooded area in Dharali and Harsil from a helicopter. “The rescue work is apace. Teams from the army, ITBP, and SDRF have reached the spot.,, A road has been blocked. The DM and an SP rank officer are on their way to the spot. It’s a challenging situation as it is still raining there,” he said.