Uttarakhand cloudburst: 28-member Kerala tourist group missing

A 28-member group of tourists, who are natives of Kerala, has gone missing after a cloudburst triggered massive mudslides in Uttarakhand, family members said on Wednesday.

Of the 28 individuals, 20 are reportedly from Kerala settled in Maharashtra, while the remaining eight are from various districts in Kerala, a relative of one of the couples in the group told the media.

She said the couple's son last spoke to them a day ago.

“They said they were leaving from Uttarkashi to Gangotri at around 8.30 am that day. The landslides occurred along that route. We have been unable to contact them since they left,” she said.

She added that the Haridwar-based travel agency, which arranged the 10-day Uttarakhand tour, was also unable to provide any update on the group's whereabouts.

“Their phones may have run out of battery by now. There is no mobile network in that region currently,” she said.

At least four people have been confirmed dead in the disaster that struck Dharali, an ecologically fragile region in Uttarakhand, following the cloudburst on Tuesday afternoon.

Officials said nearly half of Dharali was buried under a massive mudslide of slush, debris, and water. The village is a key stop on the route to Gangotri, the origin of the Ganga, and hosts several hotels and homestays.