Uttarkashi flash floods: Survivors recount narrow escape; over 1,000 evacuated

More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district after flash floods and landslides claimed four lives and left 49 missing.

On the fifth day of rescue operations on Saturday (August 9), 170 people were airlifted to Indo-Tibetian Border Police's (ITBP) Matli helipad and 107 to the airstrip at Chinyalisaur, according to Uttarakhand Police.

Also read: Uttarkashi: Air rescue operations intensify in Dharali after disaster

Four helicopters of the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Authority are making sorties to rescue people taking shelter in various locations of the district.

Survivors recount cloudburst incident

Meanwhile, several people narrowly escaped death in the cloudburst incident that led to flash floods and landslides in Uttarkashi’s Dharali and Harsil areas.

Also read: Uttarkashi cloudburst: Are policy failures fuelling Himalayan disasters? | Anoop Nautiyal interview

Among the injured was a local porter named Gopal, who had been assisting the Indian Army in the rescue operation. The Federal Desh team reached the hospital and spoke with those who had been rescued from Dharali. One of them was Gopal, who recounted that when the disaster struck, he was in the Harsil area, working with the Army to move people to safety.

Speaking to The Federal Desh, Gopal said, “We were rescuing people when suddenly a strong surge of water came, carrying huge boulders and trees with it. It swept everything away. We had to struggle to save ourselves.”

Within minutes of the incident, a relief team arrived at the spot and pulled them out.

Rescue team arrived within 2-3 minutes

According to Gopal, around 8-10 people were with him at the time of the incident, but all of them survived, though some sustained minor injuries.

Gopal himself suffered injuries to his face, hands, and legs, but is now out of danger. “The water came so fast that there was no time to understand anything — no warning, no sign. The water and debris came straight into the camp,” he recalled. Gopal is a resident of Uttarkashi district.

Agniveer Sonu Singh, another injured survivor admitted to the hospital, was on his way to Dharali for a rescue mission when the disaster struck. He told The Federal Desh, “We had set out to rescue a village in Dharali. As soon as we left the Army camp and reached a small stream, the water suddenly surged with great force. In no time, debris and stones were rushing towards us.”

At the time, the vehicle carried an officer, a junior commissioned officer, 12 Agniveers, and a havildar. After the incident, Sonu was rescued, but the status of his fellow soldiers is still unclear.

Sonu sustained serious injuries to his leg and back and is currently hospitalised in stable condition. Medical staff said his injuries were likely caused by heavy debris or pressure. Several other injured survivors, rescued from Dharali, are also admitted to the hospital’s orthopaedic ward. The administration and the Army are working together on relief and rescue operations.

(This article was originally published in The Federal Desh)