Uttarakhand flash floods: Priority to airlift advanced equipment to Dharali, says official

Efforts were stepped up on Thursday, 7 August, to airlift advanced equipment to the flood-ravaged Dharali villagein Uttarakhand to speed up the search for those trapped under rubble and rescue pilgrims stranded at various locations in the district due to breached and blocked roads.

"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," State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) IG Arun Mohan Joshi said.

There are 50 to 60-ft-high mounds of debris and those missing may be trapped under them, he said.

The advanced equipment will help rescuers dredge through the huge volume of rubble in search of the missing.

Another priority is rescuing pilgrims stranded at different locations because of blocked roads. Their number could be 300-400, Joshi said.

From Kedarnath to Dharali: A tale of unheeded warnings and rising disasters in Uttarakhand

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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.

Ground penetrating radars and sniffer dogs are also likely to be used to trace the missing, the officials said.

Rescuers recovered two bodies on Wednesday.

Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is camping here to closely monitor rescue operations, which would gain momentum when the weather improves and the blocked roads are opened.

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