Indian rescuers used helicopters on Thursday to pluck to safety people stranded by flood waters in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand two days after a sudden inundation and landslide killed four people, while more than a dozen were still missing.

Rescue operations in Uttarakhand's flash flood-ravaged Uttarkashi district gained momentum on Thursday, with 65 stranded people airlifted to Matli, officials said.

In a large-scale rescue operation, 274 tourists stranded due to flash floods and landslides in Uttarakhand’s Gangotri region have been safely evacuated, even as 59 people remain missing. Among those rescued,