BAD weather is hampering rescue operations in rain-ravaged 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 in remote mountains 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 on Saturday.
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 on Sunday due to rain and overcast conditions over the pilgrimage sites of Kedarnath and Badrinath as well as Rishikesh, which is popular with adventure tourists for its white-river rafting.
Twenty trekkers including six Americans were rescued on Saturday after they were marooned near a remote glacier, while the army managed to make contact with nearly 1,000 people stuck in mountains near Kedarnath.
Weather permitting, two aircraft were to transport a medical team and equipment to set up an emergency "mini hospital" in the region, Indian Air Force spokeswoman Priya Joshi said.
About 120 bodies were recovered from the Kedarnath temple complex and more were feared to be lying in nearby jungle where tourists took refuge after hotels and other buildings collapsed in the deluge.
The Times of India newspaper said some people had died of hunger and illness when relief failed to reach them in time.
"Mostly the young survived. But many had to see their loved ones die a slow death in front of their eyes," it quoted a rescue worker as saying.
Rescuers hoped to evacuate more people on Sunday after road links to several areas were reopened.
The military operation, involving around 50 helicopters and more than 10,000 soldiers, was focused on reaching those stranded in the holy town of Badrinath after earlier finding widespread devastation in the Kedarnath temple area.
Special trains and buses have been pressed into service to bring tourists home while medical and food supplies were being flown to stranded people.
Floods and landslides from monsoon rains have also struck neighbouring Nepal, leaving at least 39 people dead, according to the government in Kathmandu.
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