Search crews have found the body of an Army jawan in the Bhagirathi river at Jhala, which is near Harsil. This happened 13 days after flash floods caused a lot of damage in the Dharali-Harsil area of Uttarkashi district. The Uttarakhand government says in a catastrophe report that the Army has not yet confirmed the soldier’s name.
The dead toll from the accident on August 5 has now grown to two, while 67 individuals are still missing, including 25 who are Nepali. A “war footing” search-and-rescue effort is going on, with about 1,056 people from different agencies, including the Army, Air Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), working in the area.
Two helicopters from the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) are stationed at Matli to help the district government. So far, they have made 431 trips to provide food, fuel, and other supplies. However, officials indicated that the sorties planned for Monday were canceled because of bad weather.
There is an Incident Command Post (ICP) in Dharali to help with coordination, and food grains, medical supplies, and other important goods are being supplied every day. Authorities have ordered that at least 15 days’ worth of food be stored in case of more problems caused by the rain.