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Hundreds dead in India Monsoon

June 21, 2013

Rescuers in India have found the bodies of more than 550 people after monsoon flooding and landslides devastated the north of the country, officials have said. Tens of thousands of people remain stranded.

https://p.dw.com/p/18uEE
Soldiers assist survivors to board a rescue helicopter next to the River Alaknanda, during rescue operations in Govindghat in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand June 22, 2013. Early monsoon rains have swollen the Ganges, India's longest river, swept away houses, killed at least 138 people and left tens of thousands stranded, local newspapers reported. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui (INDIA - Tags: DISASTER ENVIRONMENT MILITARY)
Image: Reuters/Danish Siddiqui

Helicopters and thousands of soldiers have been deployed in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand to aid people cut off since Sunday. Food and medicine is being delivered to people in up to 100 towns and villages, as well as the many Hindu pilgrims who were visiting four shrines in the area.

Uttarakhand state Chief Minister Vijay Bahguna told broadcaster CNN-IBN Friday that the army had found 556 bodies "either floating or buried in slush."

"This kind of disaster has never happened in Himalayan history," he said, calling the floods a "Himalayan tsunami."

Tens of thousands stranded

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told reporters in New Dehli that 34,000 people have been evacuated so far and another 50,000 were stranded in the region.

June is the peak season for pilgrimages and tourism to the region, known as the "Land of the Gods" for its Hindu shrines and temples. Uttarakhand spokesman Amit Chandola said the rescue operation was focusing on the worst-hit Kedarnath temple area, where some 27,000 people are trapped.

Television footage showed soldiers helping stranded people down cliffs after the floods and mudslides, which wiped out roads and bridges and left behind large deposits of debris.

Soldiers and other workers have reopened dozens of roads and built makeshift bridges to expedite rescue operations, Chandola said, adding that more than 2,000 vehicles carrying stranded Hindu pilgrims have left the area since late Thursday.

Anger in Dehadrun

Hundreds of people saying government evacuation efforts are going too slow demonstrated in the Uttarakhand state capital of Dehadrun, where military helicopters have been taking some of the rescued.

Google launched the Person Finder application to help trace missing people in Uttarakhand. The program is available in both the Hindi and English languages, according to the Google India blog.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called the situation "distressing" late on Thursday. He announced $170 million (129 million euros) for relief efforts and appealed for funds online, asking "all citizens of India to stand with our distressed fellow countrymen" and "donate generously."

dr/mkg (AP, dpa, AFP)