The toll in the “Himalayan tsunami” rose to 556 dead while thousands of pilgrims were still stranded in the upper reaches of Uttarakhand on Friday.
The focus of the rescue operations remained the Kedarnath valley, where 250 people were stranded. Rescue personnel who reached the Kedarnath temple by helicopter were shocked by the extent of the damage.
Except for the Kedarnath temple, all the buildings adjoining the shrine had been destroyed by huge boulders and mud brought in by the devastating flash floods.
Uttarakhand chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, who gave the updated death toll, said Friday night that 556 bodies were recovered from under the debris. “Five hundred and fifty-six bodies have been recovered and there were reports that more could be buried under the debris,” Mr Bahuguna told CNN-IBN.
Uttarakhand agriculture minister Harak Singh Rawat, who went there to make a first-hand assessment, was horrified at the extent of the tragedy. “The centre of faith has been turned into a burial ground. Bodies are scattered all over. Only the sanctum sanctorum of the temple remains intact,” said Mr Rawat.
The problem in the Kedarnath valley, ITBP chief Ajay Chadha told reporters in the capital, is that local villagers, frightened that there may be more flash floods, are also demanding to be evacuated to safer areas. “The result is that the number of people being rescued has increased.