On Camera, Narrow Escape For 3 On Bike In Haridwar Landslide Scare

A sudden landslide sent debris crashing down a hillside, narrowly missing three young men riding a motorcycle in Haridwar on Tuesday. The dramatic moment was captured on a nearby CCTV camera amid heavy rainfall and a massive cloudburst in Uttarkashi, which has triggered widespread devastation.

The footage shows the three men on a busy stretch of road, bustling with pedestrians and vehicles, as they approach a hillside. Within seconds, a cascade of rocks and earth broke loose, striking their motorcycle. The bike skidded and toppled, throwing the riders to the ground. Shocked bystanders rushed to their aid, and remarkably, the three escaped without serious injury.

The landslide was a direct consequence of a massive cloudburst that struck Uttarkashi, approximately 100 kilometres from Haridwar, on Tuesday afternoon. The cloudburst, centred in the catchment area of the Kheer Ganga river, unleashed flash floods that have claimed at least five lives and left dozens missing across the region. In the village of Dharali, one of the hardest-hit areas, floodwaters and mudslides tore through homes, hotels, and infrastructure, burying nearly half the settlement under debris. 

Videos emerging from the area show torrents of muddy water and silt surging down slopes, sweeping away trees, vehicles, and multi-storey buildings. In addition to Dharali, the nearby village of Sukki and the Sukhi Top area were also battered by the deluge. The cloudburst's impact was felt across multiple districts, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing a red alert for Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Bageshwar, Pithoragarh, and Udham Singh Nagar on August 6, warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall. Dehradun, Nainital, Champawat, and Pauri were also flagged for intense showers.

The Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed, with additional NDRF teams airlifted from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. As of Wednesday, 150 people have been rescued from Dharali, but at least 50 remain missing, including 11 Army personnel from a camp in Lower Harsil. Eight soldiers were reported missing from the same region following the cloudburst at 1:40 PM on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to assess the situation and assured central government support.

Among the missing is a group of 28 tourists from Kerala, 20 of whom are settled in Maharashtra. Family members reported that the group, part of a 10-day Uttarakhand tour organised by a Haridwar-based travel agency, was travelling from Uttarkashi to Gangotri on Tuesday morning when the landslides struck.