Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday said that 274 persons have been rescued in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district following flash floods.

The floods and landslides on Tuesday triggered by intense rainfall had destroyed homes, swept away residents and livestock and cut off access to several villages.

“If the weather remains favourable until tomorrow [Friday], we will be able to rescue everyone,” Dhami told reporters.

Rainfall in Uttarakhand is likely to reduce in intensity starting Thursday, the Hindustan Times quoted the Indian Meteorological Department as saying.

The chief minister also said that Dharali and Harsil were among the worst-hit areas.

“Power lines and roads have been destroyed,” he added. “We are working on restoring electricity lines.”

Personnel from the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the police are involved in the rescue efforts.

Landslides have blocked key arterial roads leading to Dharali, which serves as the main stopover on the route to the Hindu pilgrimage town of Gangotri, PTI reported.

Inspector General of the State Disaster Response Force, Arun Mohan Joshi, said that efforts were underway to airlift advanced equipment to Dharali to speed up the search for those trapped under the rubble.

“Our teams coming with advanced equipment on Wednesday were held up due to blocked roads,” he told PTI.

The toll from the flash floods in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district increased to five on Wednesday after rescue teams recovered one more body.

More than 50 persons were feared missing after the water swept away several buildings on Tuesday, The Indian Express quoted a deputy inspector general of the National Disaster Response Force as saying.

Among those missing were nine soldiers from an armed forces camp in the lower Harsil area.

The district magistrate had confirmed four deaths earlier on Tuesday.