Chamoli cloudburst: Five more bodies recovered, toll rises to seven

The death toll in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district climbed to seven with the recovery of five more bodies on Friday, 19 September. Two bodies were recovered on Thursday, 18 September. Search operations are on with rescue teams digging through the debris and wading through the sludge in search of the missing.

As rescuers pulled out the bodies, family members of the victims broke down.

Landslides and flooding triggered by heavy rain hit four villages -- Kuntari Laga Phali, Kuntari Laga Sarpani, Sera and Dhurma -- in Chamoli's Nandanagar area, about 260 km from Dehradun and 50 km from Chamoli district headquarters at Gopeshwar, on Thursday.

Nandanagar is already reeling from land subsidence.

Chamoli District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari is in Nandanagar to oversee the search and rescue operations.

A woman buried under the debris of her rain-hit home in Nanda Nagar area was rescued late on Thursday night, 18 September, with the help of local residents.

In another feat of endurance and perseverance, rescuers pulled out a man who had been trapped beneath rubble for nearly 16 hours. Both survivors received immediate first aid before being shifted to safer locations. Officials credited the combined efforts of the police, SDRF, NDRF, and district administration for saving lives amid harrowing conditions.

Initial assessments reveal that more than 30 houses have been flattened or severely damaged across four villages — Kuntari Lagafali, Senti Lagafali, Dhurma, and Fali Lagafali — in the Nandanagar block, about 260 km from Dehradun. The region, already unstable due to ongoing land subsidence, has been left even more fragile by the latest cloudburst.

The disaster was set off by a cloudburst over Binsar hill in the early hours of 18 September, which triggered massive flooding and landslides. Villages such as Kuntari Lagafali and Dhurma bore the heaviest destruction.

Ten residents remain missing, including eight from Kuntari Lagafali. Among them is an entire family of four — Kunwar Singh (42), his wife Kanta Devi (38), and their twin sons Vikas and Vishal (10) — along with elderly villagers Deveshwari Devi (65), Bhaga Devi (65), Jagdamba Prasad (70), and Narendra Singh (40). In Dhurma, Guman Singh (75) and Mamta Devi (38) are also untraceable.

Expressing grave concern, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said he was closely monitoring the situation. “Local administration, SDRF, and police teams reached the spot immediately and are engaged in relief and rescue operations. I pray to God for the safety of all,” he said.

With IANS inputs