At least 49 persons are still missing as rescue operations entered their fifth day on Saturday following flash floods and landslides in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district earlier this week, PTI reported.

Triggered by intense rainfall, the floods and landslides occurred on Tuesday and destroyed homes, swept away residents and livestock, and cut off access to several villages.

As of Saturday, more than 1,000 persons had been evacuated from the affected regions, PTI reported.

The district administration has confirmed five deaths so far.

Four helicopters of the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Authority were deployed on Saturday morning to evacuate those still stranded, PTI reported.

The rescue operations are being jointly conducted by the Indian Army, the State Disaster Response Force, the National Disaster Response Force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and other local agencies.

The State Disaster Response Force has also deployed its canine unit to assist in locating those trapped under debris, The Indian Express reported.

On Saturday morning, Uttarakhand Director General of Police Deepam Seth said that clear weather had allowed rescue operations to gain momentum, ANI reported.

“We are trying to evacuate the remaining passengers and locals today,” he told the news agency. “That is why we started operations early this morning...The stretches of Bhatwari and Ganganani routes will be restored soon.”

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Friday that the state government was committed to providing better medical facilities to those affected and injured in the disaster-hit areas.

“The health check-up of every rescued person is being conducted, and appropriate treatment is being provided as per their needs,” he said.

On Saturday, Dhami announced that families of those who died will be given Rs 5 lakh as financial assistance.

An immediate assistance amount of Rs 5 lakh will be given for houses that were completely damaged, the chief minister said.