Advanced equipment, canine unit, and a search for the 60 missing in Uttarkashi

While four life detectors were deployed to locate living people trapped in debris, rubble and in the collapsed buildings, a victim locator camera, along with an exothermic cutting device, was also deployed.

As of 6 pm Friday, 154 people had been evacuated from Harsil to Matli, and 121 people were moved from Harsil to Chinyalisaur, bringing the total number of evacuees to 729.

P S Pokhriyal, the chief medical superintendent of the District Hospital in Uttarkashi, where nine people are undergoing treatment, said that seven Army men have been admitted in their institution along with two civilians. “One of the patients is in the ICU. We have referred a few to AIIMS Rishikesh and hospitals in Dehradun. We have provided first aid treatments and specialised care in ENT, Orthopedic department, anesthesiology, and psychiatry,” he said.

An Army man rescued from Harsil, Sonu Singh, said that he had no hope that he would survive as soil, water, and uprooted trees cascaded down the path where he stood. “Debris was all around me. I was flushed into the river and flowed with it until I clinged on to a tree in my path. Many of my colleagues went down the river,” said Singh, who hails from Uttar Pradesh. Eight of his colleagues remain missing, including a JCO. “I saw them getting swept away. There were other Agniveers like me, but they are still missing,” Singh said.

His colleague, Harshvardhan, another Agniveer, was also pushed into the stream as flood hit the camp. “We were leaving for the rescue operations at Dharali when the flood hit us. I climbed onto a rock on the bank of the river, and my fellow Army men helped us out of the water,” Harshvardhan, who hails from Sikar, said.

Meanwhile, Head and Member Secretary of the NDMA, Rajendra Singh, said that Doppler Radars will soon be installed in Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, and Auli to improve weather forecasting capabilities. He instructed the India Meteorological Department to prioritise Uttarakhand for the installation of these radars. Under Mission Mausam, he also assured that more Doppler Radars would be installed in other important areas of the state.

Singh said that essential equipment like dozers, ground-penetrating radars, and others are being made available for relief and rescue operations in Dharali. These will be airlifted using Indian Air Force MI-17 and Chinook helicopters to all required locations.

The SDRF dog squad is also engaged in the search for survivors trapped under the rubble. The canines helping in the search were named Hazel, Jansi, Opanna, Sarah, and Rahi.

As road connectivity remained cut off, the movement of heavy machinery to move the muck continues to be a challenge.

On Friday, the SDRF teams got hold of advanced equipment such as victim locating cameras and thermal imaging cameras to conduct intensive searches inside damaged buildings buried under debris.