Ten people went missing in the early hours of Thursday after heavy rainfall triggered massive landslides in the villages of Kuntri Lagafali and Dhurma in the Nandanagar of Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.
Two women and one child have been rescued, authorities said.
The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have launched rescue operations. Eight people are missing from Kuntri Lagafali and two from Dhurma village.
The missing people from Kuntri Lagafali have been identified as Kunwar Singh (42), his wife Kanta Devi (38), their twin sons Vikas and Vishal (10), Narendra Singh (40), Jagdamba Prasad (70), his wife Bhaga Devi (65), and Deveshwari Devi (65). From Dhurma village, Guman Singh (75) and Mamta Devi (38) have been reported missing.
“At around 3 am, the Chamoli District Control Room received information about a cloudburst incident in Kuntri Lagafali, Kuntri Laga Sarpani, and Dhurma wards of Nagar Panchayat Nandanagar. As per initial reports, 27 to 30 houses and cowsheds have been damaged,” SDRF Commandant Arpan Yaduvanshi said.
“Local police, administration, and DDRF teams are also present at the site. According to preliminary inputs, around 10 people are feared trapped under the debris, while 2 women and 1 child have been rescued in an injured condition and sent for treatment,” he added.
He further said, “Acting immediately on the information, an SDRF team led by Sub-Inspector Jagmohan from the Gauchar post was dispatched to the site. Due to blocked routes and continuous heavy rainfall, the team faced difficulties but managed to reach the spot after trekking nearly 8km on foot.”