Bad weather hits India flood rescue operations

Bad weather yesterday hampered rescue operations in northern India where up to 1,000 people are feared to have died in landslides and flash floods that have left pilgrims and tourists stranded without food or water.
So far 557 bodies have been found after torrential rains struck the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand on June 15, flooding the Ganges river and devastating an area known as the "Land of the Gods" for its revered Hindu shrines.
More than 20,000 people were cut off in remote areas with the full extent of the loss of life only likely to emerge after flood waters recede and rescue workers reach isolated areas, officials said.
"The death toll could be more than 750 -- maybe around 1,000," Uttarakhand chief minister Vijay Bahuguna said in the state capital Dehradun late Saturday.
In Govindghat, a small town on the route to the Sikh holy site of Hemkund, army personnel built temporary bridges by stringing ropes across river banks to help civilians cross safely, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
Raging rivers have swept away houses, buildings and entire villages. Dozens of helicopters and thousands of soldiers have been deployed to help people trapped across the state.
But air operations had to be suspended yesterday due to rain and overcast conditions but resumed later after the condition improved.
The Times of India newspaper said some people had died of hunger and illness when relief failed to reach them in time.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde Saturday said up to 73,000 people had been rescued so far from various sites within the state.
In the adjacent state of Himachal Pradesh, 20 people have been killed and around 1,200 tourists remained stranded in remote rain-hit regions.
Floods and landslides from monsoon rains have also struck neighbouring Nepal, leaving at least 39 people dead, according to the government in Kathmandu.