SRINAGAR: More than 50 individuals, including 10 Army personnel remain missing in Harshil, Uttarakhand, following cloudbursts that triggered flash floods along the banks of the Kheer Ganga river in Uttarkashi district, according to multiple media reports.
The Central Government has dispatched a specialized Tiranga Mountain Rescue team equipped with RECCO radar systems—advanced technology designed to detect human presence beneath debris.
“The Tiranga team is en route with RECCO radars, which are particularly effective at identifying life signs under thick layers of mud and debris. In some areas, the sludge is buried 10 to 20 feet deep. Though the civil helipad has been destroyed, the Army’s helipad remains functional and is being used to transport additional forces and essential rescue equipment,” an Army official as per Hindustan Times stated.
Personnel from the 14 Rajputana Rifles successfully reopened a road between Harshil and Dharali village that had been blocked due to Tuesday’s mudslide. Injured residents from Dharali are now receiving treatment at Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) medical camps set up in Harshil.
The 10 missing Army personnel, including a junior commissioned officer, were stationed at their camp in Lower Harshil when the sudden flooding occurred.
Quoting officials NDTV reports said that, the Army, ITBP, and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were informed by the district administration that approximately 20 local residents, 25 to 30 workers employed in shops and hotels in Harshil, and an unknown number of tourists are still untraceable.
Meanwhile, the ITBP confirmed the recovery of a fifth body on Wednesday morning from Dharali village, near the Harshil police station.
