Uttarakashi: As the sun set over the flood-ravaged Himalayan village of Dharali with 150 people rescued and one body recovered on Wednesday, fears mounted for those still trapped under the massive river of sludge that buried scores of houses, trees and cars.

Four people are suspected to have been killed in the disaster that struck the ecologically fragile area on Tuesday afternoon. Bad weather was hampering rescue operations even as an NDRF team reached the site in the evening.

Tonnes of rubble lay on the site with the ITBP, Army and SDRF personnel rummaging through it for those trapped underneath amid continuing rain and road collapses. Officials said the army's Ibex brigade which had helped in rescue operations in the Mana avalanche of February is preparing to take the help of ground penetrating radars to search the missing.

Two more NDRF teams are en route to Dharali but have been unable to get there because continuous landslides have blocked the Rishikesh-Uttarkashi highway. According to Mohsen Shahedi, NDRF deputy inspector general (DIG) operations, two NDRF teams are to be airlifted from Dehradun, but they can't be moved as bad weather is preventing a successful sortie.