At least 17 people lost their lives to heavy rainfall batters in Uttarakhand till Tuesday after continous rainfall for three days. More people may be trapped under debris, news agency PTI reported.

Among those dead are labourers from Nepal who, according to PTI, were staying near Lansdowne in Pauri district when they were buried alive by rubble flowing down from a field above.

#WATCH | An under construction bridge, over a raging Chalthi River in Champawat, washed away due to rise in the water level caused by incessant rainfall in parts of Uttarakhand. pic.twitter.com/AaLBdClIwe

— ANI (@ANI) October 19, 2021

10 people from Kolkata who were stranded at Kalchanth on the Rudranath trek route have been rescued by the forest department personnel and brought to Gopeshwar: Amit Kanwar, divisional forest officer, Kedarnath forest division.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami today to take stock of the situation, and offer the state government all possible assistance.

Apart from the state and national disaster response forces, the Army has also been called to action; Chief Minister Dhami told PTI three Army helicopters would join rescue and relief efforts.

Two will be sent to the Nainital region and the third to Garhwal to aid in rescue of stranded people.