Monsoons wreak devastation

PARAMILITARY soldiers yesterday recovered 20 bodies from a steep hillside in northern India, where a helicopter crashed while on a mission to rescue people stranded in monsoon floods.

The helicopter crashed late on Tuesday, when its rotor blades hit the hillside while returning with survivors of flooding and landslides that have killed more than 1 000 people and washed away thousands of homes, roads and bridges since mid-June in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.

Soldiers, using ropes, reached the crash site early yesterday and found the bodies of 20 people, including five air force crew members, Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne said.

The helicopter’s cockpit voice recorder was recovered and an inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of the crash, Browne said.

Some 45 aircraft have been used in rescue and relief operations, but bad weather has dogged the efforts since Sunday, with intermittent rain and dense fog hanging over mountains.

Troops yesterday were trying to rescue about 5 000 people who remained stranded in Badrinath and Harsil 10 days after torrential rains triggered the flooding and landslides in Uttarakhand.

Browne visited Gauchar, where the air force has mounted its relief and rescue operations. He assured flood survivors that helicopters would rescue everyone stranded in Uttarakhand despite the bad weather and poor visibility.

Hundreds of thousands of Hindus make the Char Dham Yatra pilgrimage to four temple towns in Uttarakhand each year, usually returning home before monsoon rains in July make the mountainous area much more treacherous, but unprecedented heavy rains fell around mid-June this year and caught many by surprise.

About 92 000 people have been rescued. Landslides and floods flattened entire towns and communication links were snapped. — Sapa-AP