Uttarakhand cloudburst: 28-member Kerala tourist group goes missing after devastating flash floods

A 28-member group of tourists, comprising natives of Kerala, including 20 settled in Maharashtra, has gone missing following catastrophic mudslides triggered by a cloudburst in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district on Tuesday (August 5). Relatives reported that the tourists last made contact as they set out from Uttarkashi to Gangotri, a route that was later hit by deadly landslides and flash floods.

Family members anxiously recounted their last conversation, “They said they were leaving from Uttarkashi to Gangotri at around 8:30 am. The landslides occurred along that route. We haven’t been able to reach them since,” explained one relative. Even the Haridwar-based travel agency responsible for their 10-day tour has no information on the group’s whereabouts, with the breakdown of communication attributed to power outages, exhausted phone batteries, and the absence of a mobile network



in the disaster-struck zone.

The destructive cloudburst on Tuesday afternoon struck Dharali, an ecologically sensitive region and an important stop on the pilgrimage to Gangotri. Torrential rains triggered massive mudslides that buried homes, hotels, and homestays under debris and slush, leaving at least four people confirmed dead so far. Officials estimate nearly half of Dharali has been submerged under mud and debris, complicating rescue operations.

Rescue operations are in full swing, led by the Indian Army, ITBP, NDRF, and SDRF teams, but efforts remain hindered by washed-out roads and collapsed bridges. Over 130 people have been rescued from Dharali so far, but more than 100, among them the Kerala tourist group, are still unaccounted for. Authorities are working around the clock, with the Disaster Operations Station in Dehradun providing continuous assistance.