Flash floods have swept through a Himalayan village in northern India, killing at least four people and leaving more than 50 missing, according to officials, who warned that the toll could rise further. 

Videos broadcast on Indian media on Tuesday showed a terrifying surge of muddy water sweeping away buildings in Uttarakhand state’s Dharali village. 

Several people could be seen running before being engulfed by the dark waves of debris that uprooted entire multistorey buildings. A wide swath of the village was swamped by deep debris. In places, the mud lapped at the rooftops of houses. 

Four people were killed and many more have been rescued so far, Uttarkashi district administrator Prashant Arya told local media. 

“A massive mudslide struck Dharali village in the Kheer Gad area near Harsil, triggering a sudden flow of debris and water through the settlement,” the Indian Army said in a post on X. 

Rescue teams were deployed “on a war footing” to the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, said state Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in a statement on Tuesday, adding: “We are doing everything possible to save lives and provide relief.” 

Teams from the army and disaster response forces reached the area, local authorities said, with workers trying to rescue people trapped under debris and sludge. 

India’s National Disaster Management Authority said it requested three helicopters from the federal government to assist in the rescue and relief operations, as rescuers struggled to access the remote terrain. 

“Luckily, most of the people were at a fair in a safe location,” said a disaster official who asked not to be named, since he was not authorised to speak to the media. 

Images released by the army, taken from the site after the main torrent of water had gone, showed a river of slow-moving mud.