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India races to rescue thousands of flood victims

Thousands of pilgrims and tourists were sheltering in forests on Friday awaiting rescue, almost a week after flash floods and landslides hit northern India, wiping out villages and leaving at least 150 dead, officials said.

Helicopters and thousands of soldiers have been deployed to rescue people stranded at remote pilgrimage sites after devastating torrential monsoon rains hit the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand last weekend.

Rescue workers who have managed to reach those stranded are racing to cut down trees and clear vegetation to allow military helicopters to land and evacuate those most in need, a state official said.

“Thousands of tourists are waiting in the dense forests. They had all taken refuge in the jungle after hotels and other buildings collapsed,” said the state’s principal secretary Rakesh Sharma.

“We are trying all possible ways to rescue them. Roads are totally destroyed,” he said.

More than 150 people have been killed in Uttarakhand and neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, their state control departments said, but officials have warned the death toll could rise dramatically as flood waters recede and rescue workers reach isolated areas.

Some 50,000 people are still stranded after the floods swept away houses and other buildings, while bridges and narrow roads leading to pilgrimage towns have also been destroyed, the national government said.

More than 34,000 people have been rescued in recent days, the government said, with unconfirmed reports of another 13,000 people “missing.”

Torrential rains four and a half times as heavy as usual have hit Uttarakhand, known as the “Land of the Gods”, where Hindu shrines and temples built high in the mountains attract many pilgrims.

The military operation was concentrating on reaching the worst-hit Kedarnath temple area, with many of those rescued taken to the Uttarakhand capital Dehradun.

Some of those stranded in mountain areas are trying to walk to safer ground, with photos showing pilgrims, aided by soldiers, using ropes to climb down cliffs.

Soldiers have also reached some of the villages in lower lying areas by boat, ferrying women clutching babies, children and elderly men to safety. Video footage shows only roofs of the houses visible above the water line.

Army field hospitals have also been set up in the state, with the elderly seen on stretcher beds awaiting medical attention.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh late on Thursday described the situation as “distressing” and announced a 170-million-dollar aid package and an online appeal for funds, asking “all citizens of India to stand with our distressed fellow countrymen” and “donate generously”.

Floods and landslides from monsoon rains have also struck across the border in Nepal, leaving at least 39 people dead, the government said.