The Leh cloudburst toll rose to 132 as more bodies were found lying beneath the debris of flattened homes and other buildings on Saturday.
The authorities fear the figure could cross 200 as the rescuers have not been able to trace any of those still missing after the natural catastrophe struck the hilly town, situated at an altitude of 11,562 feet (3,524 m), during the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.

Also, there is no word about hundreds of residents of hamlets dotting the hills in the Leh neighbourhood whereas Choglumsur village, which bore the brunt of the flash floods following the cloudburst, has been completely wiped out. Rescue workers were still looking for survivors in the mud and debris, reports said. The Army, which has a heavy presence in the area for its proximity with Tibet and Pakistan, is also reported to have suffered casualties and material loss, the details of which are being collected. A spokesperson for the Leh-based 14 Corps said three JCOs and 30 other personnel of the 15th Battalion of the Bihar Regiment are missing and a search for them is on.
The fate of hundreds of casual labourers working with the Army or at various construction sites in the hilly region is not known. With communications severed, the authorities have sent out police teams in different directions to cover long distances on foot and bring back details of the damage in the remote areas. One report, not confirmed officially, suggested that more than 600 people are feared to have been washed away in the flash floods. These reports also said that the death toll could cross 500 as several far-flung areas are yet to be accessed.
Rescue operations resu-med in Leh and its neighbourhood at first light on Saturday after being suspended for the night, but heavy rain was again hampering work. Officials said that with the recovery of 19 more bodies on Saturday day the toll now was 132. The number of injured has already crossed 400. Lt. Col. J.S. Brar, the spokesperson for the Army’s Northern Command, said the cloudburst and subsequent flash floods “have caused untold havoc and misery, washing away a very large number of residential houses and government buildings, including those of the Indian Army and the paramilitary forces”. He said that in spite of being affected themselves, the Leh-based Fire and Fury Corps swung into immediate action and launched massive rescue operations, and a number of Army columns continued to be busy with rescue work for the second day running on Saturday.
He said the Army’s 153 General Hospital at Leh is the only coherent functional medical facility available to victims. “More than 400 civilian patients have been treated besides 22 major life-saving surgeries and 45 of a lesser degree being carried out. Whereas 94 people are still admitted there, the condition of 76 of them is considered serious,” he said.
Official sources here said six additional commercial flights will be operated from Leh on Sunday to evacuate the seriously injured and also tourists stranded in Leh. On Saturday, Union ministers Ghulam Nabi Azad and Prithviraj Chavan flew into Leh to assess damage and monitor relief and rescue. Accompanied by a team of doctors and paramedics, Mr Azad has been sent by the Centre to assist the state government in relief and rehabilitation operations.
Union minister Farooq Abdullah also reached Leh earlier on Saturday morning from Srinagar. CM Omar Abdullah had visited the affected areas and made an on-the-spot assessment of the situation on Friday.
Road connectivity with Leh, both from Srinagar and Manali, remained snapped. However, an IAF aircraft carrying relief material landed at Leh to provide succour. The IL-76 aircraft, along with four An-32 planes, had left Chandigarh on Saturday morning but had to return due to bad weather. The IL-76 landed on its second attempt. Another IAF aircraft from Delhi had also proceeded but had to return to Chandigarh due to bad weather. The IL-76 carried blankets, dry food, medicine and other items to meet the immediate requirements of those affected, officials said. Reports said that besides the Army, ITBP personnel, local police and hundreds of civilian volunteers, as well as the Ladakh Scouts, are involved in relief and rescue.
A Jammu and Kashmir government spokesperson said here Saturday evening that since Leh airport has become functional again arrangements to dispatch the bodies of non-local victims are underway. He added that repair work on the 434-km Srinagar-Leh national highway is also being conducted by HIMANK. He added that an 11-member team of doctors and paramedics has arrived in Leh along with a 45-member National Disaster Response Force team to help rescue operations. “Adequate supply of medicines, weighing one ton, has been airlifted to Leh.”