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166 bodies found after India floods

Police and emergency workers have found the bodies of 166 flood victims in India's north over the past four days.

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Source: AAP


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Police and emergency workers have found the bodies of 166 flood victims in India's north over the past four days, officials say.

They would be cremated with required rituals after DNA tests and autopsies, Uttarakhand state police inspector general RS Meena said on Saturday.

Heavy monsoon rains triggered devastating landslides and floods in the region, catching thousands of pilgrims visiting Hindu shrines in the Himalayan region, tourists and locals unawares.

In mid-July, the state government said more than 5700 people missing after the floods would be presumed dead.

An estimated 922 bodies have been found since the floods, according to unofficial estimates.

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The administration began a search for the bodies after the monsoon rains receded at the end of August, a state disaster management official said.

The bodies found over the past four days seemed to be mostly pilgrims who had climbed to higher reaches to escape and died due to exposure or starvation, Meena said.

Most of the bodies were found in Kedar valley, a region cut off for nearly a fortnight after roads and bridges washed away.


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