At least 50–60 people, including 10 Army officers, are still missing in Harshil after suspected cloudbursts led to flash floods along the Kheer Ganga riverbanks in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi.
The Centre has sent a team of Tiranga Mountain Rescuers with RECCO radars, a technology used by search and rescue teams to locate people buried.
“The Tiranga Mountain Rescue Team is on its way with the RECCO radar, which are more effective in detecting life under debris. The mud debris here is over 10–20 feet at some spots. The civil helipad was destroyed, but the Army’s helipad is intact. It is being used to bring in additional reinforcements and equipment needed for rescue ops,” an Army officer aware of the development said on Wednesday.
Another team of Army officers have been deployed to rescue pilgrims in Gangotri on Wednesday morning. They are using drones to transport relief material, medicines, and food to those stranded.
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“The 14 Rajputana Rifles on Wednesday morning opened a road between Harshil and Dharali village, which was blocked due to the mudslide on Tuesday. The injured people from Dharali village are being brought to the medical investigation rooms of the Army and the ITBP in Harshil,” the officer added.
The 10 Army personnel, including a junior commissioned officer, were at their camp in Lower Harshil when the flash floods hit on Tuesday.
“The district administration told rescuers from the Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) that around 20 locals, 25–30 non-locals working in shops and hotels in Harshil town, and tourists (numbers not known yet) remain untraceable,” the officer said.
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Meanwhile, the ITBP said a fifth body was found in Dharali village near Harshil police station on Wednesday morning.
The Army and rescue teams are working at four locations — Dharali village, Lower Harshil, north of Dharali, and Gangotri — in Uttarkashi.
