Residents of Dharali, a town in India's northern Uttarakhand state, described scenes of devastation on Wednesday (August 6) after sudden flash floods and landslides the previous day left dozens missing and submerged houses in sludge.

"We were nearby and saw a lot of people being swept away by the deluge," a local resident said.

Teams of army and disaster force rescuers used heavy machinery to shift boulders in the struggle to reach the village of Dharali, where homes and roads were submerged by a flood of water, mud and rocks, media and authorities said.

State Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said at least 190 have been rescued so far.

Rescuers used a makeshift zipline to cross a violently gushing river, while others moved rocks and mud with their hands in the hunt for those buried under the sludge, television images showed.

Uttarakhand is prone to floods and landslides, which some experts blame on climate change.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

DHARALI, UTTARKASHI, UTTARAKHAND, INDIA (AUGUST 6, 2025) (ANI - No use India)

1. DEBRIS IN RIVER / HOUSES PARTIALLY BURIED IN MUDSLIDE DEBRIS

2. MUDDY RIVER FLOWING IN VALLEY / HOUSES PARTIALLY BURIED IN SLUDGE

3. UTTARAKHAND STATE CHIEF, PUSHKAR SINGH DHAMI, LOOKING ON AS ARMY OFFICIAL POINTS AT AFFECTED AREAS

4. HOUSES PARTIALLY BURIED IN MUDSLIDE DEBRIS

5. VARIOUS OF HOUSES PARTIALLY BURIED IN MUDSLIDE DEBRIS AND MUDDY RIVER FLOWING IN VALLEY

6. DAMAGED BRIDGE

7. (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) LOCAL RESIDENT, ROSHAN (LAST NAME NOT GIVEN), SAYING:

"The situation here was dangerous and very horrifying. It happened at around 1.30 pm (0800 GMT) and we were nearby and saw a lot of people being swept away by the deluge. The floods also washed away a lot of houses and trees."

8. DAMAGED HOUSES

9. DHAMI TALKING TO PEOPLE

10. LANDSLIDE DEBRIS / RESCUERS AT SITE

11. HOUSE PARTIALLY BURIED IN DEBRIS

12. DHAMI INSPECTING DAMAGE

13. (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) LOCAL RESIDENT, SUMIT RATHODI, SAYING:

"It is such a terrifying natural disaster that people don't even get any time to run… And we have come to know that a lot of people have died... It was horrific and the floods lasted for merely 10 seconds and after that the water started flowing normally."

14. RESCUERS CARRYING VICTIM ON STRETCHER

15. RESCUERS STANDING NEAR HELICOPTER WITH VICTIM ON STRETCHER

16. VARIOUS OF RESCUERS CARRYING VICTIMS ON STRETCHER

UTTARKASHI, UTTARAKHAND, INDIA (AUGUST 6, 2025) (ANI - No use India)

17. (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) UTTARAKHAND STATE CHIEF, PUSHKAR SINGH DHAMI, SAYING:

"Until evening, the rescuers from the Army had rescued 190 people."

IN AIR, UTTARAKHAND, INDIA (AUGUST 6, 2025) (ANI - No use India)

18. AERIAL VIEW OF MUDDY RIVER FLOWING IN VALLEY/LANDSLIDE DEBRIS AND HOUSES BURIED IN DEBRIS

19. DHAMI LOOKING OUT OF CHOPPER WINDOW

20. AERIAL VIEW OF DEBRIS AND RESCUERS AT SITE