Uttarkashi, Aug. 9 -- Furqan Ahmed was sitting in his car in Dharali when he heard the hills rumble. Floodwaters were barrelling into Dharali and he had seconds to decide - wait for his friends, or drive. The welder from Uttar Pradesh floored the accelerator pedal, leaving death behind, but carrying with him a mountain of guilt. The 31-year-old was sitting in his Maruti Alto, parked at the entrance of the Dharali market. Three of his friends were barely 20 feet from the hatchback - but still too far for Ahmed to get to them. "I saw people running past and realised something major had happened. I told my friends to run, because they wouldn't be able to make it to the car. I sped away when I realised the water was getting closer," he said on Friday. "About 30 or 40 metres away, I stopped to check where Furkan Chota, Salman Khan and Yogesh Kumar were. But there was no trace of them. The rest of the market had gone too." He couldn't get out - the mud had started to inch forwards. Ahmed drove away.P8...