Uttarkashi: 1 more body found, 42 still missing as rain halts rescue ops

Uttarkashi: Incessant rains in Uttarkashi since Monday morning hampered rescue operations in disaster-hit Dharali and Harsil, even as one more body was recovered and 42 people remain missing following flash floods in the area a week ago, officials said.

Apart from them, five of the 29 Nepali labourers reported missing initially have been contacted after the restoration of the mobile network, and authorities said they are hopeful that the others will also be traced.

Due to the inclement weather, rescuers had to temporarily halt their search for the missing people in the debris, officials said.

Hopes of finding survivors dimmed as it has been almost a week since raging waters and mudslides buried virtually half of Dharali village, besides causing extensive damage to an Army camp in Harsil.

Commissioner of Garhwal division Vinay Shankar told reporters in Uttarkashi on Monday that “as per the information received so far, 43 people were reported missing in the disaster, out of which the body of Akash Panwar, a youth from Dharali village, has been recovered”.

He, however, did not specify the death toll till now.

Financial assistance has been provided to the family of the deceased youth, he said.

The remaining 42 missing people include nine army personnel as well as eight people from Dharali village, five from nearby areas, one person from Tehri district, 13 from Bihar and six from Uttar Pradesh, Pandey said.

He said 29 Nepali labourers were also reported missing initially, out of which five have been contacted after the restoration of the mobile network in the area. More details about the remaining 24 labourers, like their mobile numbers and places where they hailed from, have been sought from their contractors, he said.

It is believed that, like the five labourers who have been found safe so far, the remaining workers may also have gone elsewhere to take shelter, he said.

The district administration had initially said that four people had died in the tragedy. Later, two bodies were recovered, and 49 people were reported missing since the disaster. The Garhwal Commissioner said a total of 1,278 people, including outsiders and needy locals who had taken shelter in different locations in the affected areas, were evacuated during the heli rescue operation. “All the outsiders and needy local people stranded in the affected area have been evacuated,” he said.

Distribution of an ex gratia of Rs five lakh each as immediate relief among the affected people is going on, he said, adding that a larger package of relief and rehabilitation is being prepared for them.

The Meteorological department, said that the weather will remain bad for the next few days with heavy rain predicted in the state on August 13, 14 and 15.