A week after catastrophic flash floods ravaged Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district, at least 66 people remain missing including 24 Nepalese workers, 14 locals, and 9 army personnel, according to official reports.
The disaster, which struck Dharali village on August 5, submerged half the settlement under muddy torrents from the swollen Kheerganga river, leaving only one confirmed fatality but dozens unaccounted for.
The Himalayan flash floods transformed the tranquil Bhagirathi river valley into a disaster zone, with videos capturing monstrous waves obliterating buildings in Dharali and Harsil villages within seconds. The sludge created an artificial lake that submerged a government helipad, severely hampering rescue efforts. While 1,300 people have been evacuated, blocked highways and continuous rainfall have complicated operations in this popular trekking region near Gangotri.
Meanwhile, rescue teams employing sniffer dogs, radar equipment, and earth-movers are combing through debris where a riverside hotel once stood. “We’re manually digging where we saw people last,” a rescuer told Press Trust of India. The tragedy deepened when a road-repair machine operator vanished after his vehicle plunged into the raging Kheerganga.
While Uttarakhand’s Chief Minister initially blamed a cloudburst, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) hasn’t confirmed this. A team of 10 geologists is investigating whether glacial lake outbursts or extreme monsoon rains triggered the disaster.
The official missing list includes 19 laborers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, though locals insist the toll is higher, with many seasonal workers uncounted. Vinay Shankar Pandey, a senior official, confirmed that helicopters and temporary bridges are being used to access cut-off areas, but fresh rains have caused the artificial lake to refill, prolonging the crisis.
With the IMD issuing high alerts for eight districts including Garhwal until August 14, fears grow of new landslides in this ecologically fragile Himalayan state.
