Rescuers battle on as flood toll nears 600

A boy rescued from flood-hit areas waits with others before being sent to relief camps in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, yesterday.

AFP/New DelhiRescuers recovered scores of bodies from the Ganges river in northern India yesterday, as the death toll from flash floods and landslides neared 600, with thousands of mainly pilgrims and tourists still stranded or missing. Dozens of helicopters and thousands of soldiers have been deployed to rescue more than 35,000 trapped people, the home ministry said, almost one week after floods and landslides from torrential monsoon rains struck the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. Raging rivers have swept away houses, buildings and entire villages, and destroyed bridges and narrow roads leading to pilgrimage towns in the mountainous state.“556 bodies have been noticed by the army... either floating or buried in slush,” Vijay Bahuguna, state chief minister told local TV channel CNN-IBN yesterday evening.Scores of bodies were recovered from the Ganges river earlier yesterday, with the death toll expected to rise further as flood waters recede to reveal the extent of the devastation, and rescue workers reach more isolated areas.“This kind of disaster has never happened in Himalayan history,” Bahuguna said.He attacked the India Meterological Department (IMD) for not issuing adequate warning ahead of the heavy rains, which struck earlier than expected, saying the local government was unable to prepare for the deluge and evacuate people on time.“The IMD warning was not clear enough,” he said, adding that it would take another 15 days to evacuate all the tourists. Anxious relatives waited at state capital Dehradun, where military helicopters and other aircraft were assisting with rescue efforts.Neelam Rana, a 27-year-old mother-of-two, who was rescued with her family yesterday after waiting nearly a week for help said she was “overwhelmed” to finally leave. “We suffered a lot. Our food ran out, I don’t know how we survived,” she said, as she prepared to leave with her husband and children, aged two and five.Distraught relatives clutching photographs of missing family members were waiting outside Dehradun airport for news. Amit Thakur, 40, said his 11-year-old nephew had been missing since their family-run hotel collapsed last week.“I just hope the army will trace our little boy. I have been standing outside the airport for the last three days to get any information about him,” Thakur said.5,000 missing in Kedarnath, ‘presumed dead’

Nearly 5,000 people are still missing in Kedenarth in Uttarakhand following the devastating floods and are presumed dead, ActionAid said yesterday. Debabrat Patra, ActionAid India’s regional manager for Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, said the situation in the hill state was “catastrophic”. “People’s houses and animals have been washed away and many roads have simply disappeared,” he said. According to him, nearly 75,000 pilgrims were stranded. “Our partners in the region have reported that nearly 5,000 people are still missing in Kedarnath, presumed dead. People are at a loss as to where to start the search and rescue. We expect more rains in the coming days and weeks, and the situation may get worse and hinder the search and rescue work underway now,” he added.