Dawn
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06:35 Aug 06, 2025
The Indian army brought in sniffer dogs, drones and heavy earth-moving equipment on Wednesday to search for scores missing a day after a deadly Himalayan flash flood. At least four people were killed and around 100 are unaccounted for — including 11 soldiers — after a wall of muddy water and debris tore down a narrow mountain valley, smashing into the town of Dharali in Uttarakhand state. “Additional army columns, along with army tracker dogs, drones, logistic drones, earthmoving equipment etc, have been moved… to hasten the efforts”, the army said today. Military helicopters were working to bring in “essential supplies, medicines and (for the) evacuation of the marooned”, it added. Uttarakhand State Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the flood was caused by an intense “cloudburst” of rain, and that rescue teams had been deployed “on a war footing”. Videos broadcast on Indian media showed a terrifying surge of muddy water sweeping away multi-storey apartment blocks in the tourist region on Tuesday aftern...