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India to begin mass cremation of flood victims
[Pak Daily Times] Indian priests were preparing to cremate hundreds of flood victims on Monday as heavy rains halted the helicopter search for thousands of tourists stranded in the devastated Himalayan region, officials said.Some 1,000 people were feared dead and more than 8,000 mainly pilgrims and tourists were still awaiting rescue nine days after flash floods and landslides hit the state of Uttarakhand. So far 580 bodies have been found after torrential monsoon rains struck the mountainous region, known as the "Land of the Gods" for its revered Hindu shrines. "Many more bodies are yet to be pulled out from isolated areas that are completely cut-off," disaster management official K N Pandey told AFP. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde warned that the corpse count could rise above 1,000 once flood waters have receded and debris is cleared by emergency workers, showing the full extent of the disaster. Posted by: Fred 2013-06-25 |
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