Army rescues 70 more victims at Dharali flashfloods, 200 tourists stranded at Gangotri

The Indian army on Thursday rescued 70 more victims from Dharali in addition to 130 people taken to safer locations on Tuesday and Wednesday, as 60 people were still reported missing after flash floods triggered by torrential rain hit the Kheer Ganga river on Tuesday afternoon.

At least 200 tourists are stranded at Gangotri as more than 225 army personnel, along with State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and ITBP teams, are engaged in a rescue operation at cloudburst-hit Dharali in Uttarkashi.

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A statement issued by the Indian army today said that Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations in the cloudburst-affected area of Dharali near Harsil were intensified as the weather turned conducive, enabling heli services to be easier. This helped rescuers to airlift 70 disaster victims to safer locations at the Matli makeshift shelter near Uttarkashi, while the injured were taken for medical help at different places.

Army rescuers were also able to recover two bodies, confirming three deaths in the last 24 hours. According to the army update on the rescue operation, around 60 people, including one JCO and eight army jawans, were still reported missing. At the same time, nine injured army personnel and three locals were evacuated by helicopter to Dehradun for medical help, and three critically injured victims were shifted to the AIIMS Rishikesh by ambulance. Eight other victims were admitted to the Uttarkashi district hospital, and two bodies were also recovered in the morning.

Besides this, nearly 200 tourists were stranded at Gangotri. They were being provided food, shelter, and medical support by the army and ITBP men deployed there.

The Dharali market remains cut off due to multiple landslides and road breaches between the Uttarkashi district headquarters and the disaster-affected area. Efforts were being made by the BRO and Uttarkashi district administration to hasten the resumption of traffic on the Gangotri Highway, severely disrupted at Bhatwari, Linchigad, near Harsil, Gangrani, and Dharali. Repair work is underway.

The army statement added that in the absence of road connectivity, heli services are the only option to evacuate disaster victims and stranded tourists and shift them to safe locations. Even these services have their limitations; only the military helipad at Harsil and another at Nelong towards the Indo-China border near Gangotri are operational. Besides this, the road between Gangotri and Nelong is also functional to help tourists reach Nelong for taking airlifts. Dharali helipad remained out of order due to a mudslide on Tuesday.

The Army update claimed “over 225 troops, including engineers, medical teams, and rescue specialists, are on the ground zero with the deployment of search and rescue dogs. Efforts are on to employ two REECO radar teams in the rescue operation.”
To further intensify the rescue operation, Indian Army officials have planned to engage para troops and more medical teams at Harsil via Chinook helicopters, stationed in Dehradun, in the next 24-48 hours.

As the road connectivity is yet to be restored, NDRF teams and medics will be brought to Nelong by Mi-17 helicopters. Stranded tourists reaching Nelong from Gangotri will be evacuated in MI-17 in return sorties. The statement added that work is also underway to open the road ahead of Uttarkashi and Tekla in order to bring in more enforcement easily.

Significantly, two each of the Chinook and Mi-17 helicopters were ready at the Jollygrant Airport in Dehradun to commence airlifting operation at the disaster-hit site and evacuate victims today, but they were yet to take off at the time the story was being filed. On the other hand, five civil helicopters deployed by Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) from Sahastradhara Heliport, Dehradun, have begun operating between Matli, Bhatwari, and Harsil to airlift disaster victims in coordination with the SDRF.