More than 100,000 people have been rescued from the Himalayan mountains after floods and landslides that left more than 800 dead.



Officials say nearly 3,000 people are still missing.

But officials say the exact number of deaths may never be known.

This year's early monsoon rains in the Uttarakhand region are believed to be the heaviest in 80 years.


Swollen rivers have swept away entire villages in the state, where there were many travellers in what is peak tourist season.
'Little clarity'
The last pilgrim stranded in the temple town of Badrinath has been brought down safely, bringing to an end the rescue operation, Indian army spokesman Brigadier Uma Maheshwar told the BBC.

Tens of thousands of people, mostly tourists and Hindu pilgrims, have been evacuated by military helicopters in the last 17 days.

One Indian air force rescue helicopter crashed during the operation, killing all 20 people on board.

But there is still little clarity on how many people may have been killed in the disaster, the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder says.

Officially 3,000 people remain unaccounted for, but some aid agencies suggest that the figure may be much higher, our correspondent adds.

Officials say many bodies may have been washed away or remain buried under debris. Some of the bodies were recovered in rivers downstream from the flood zone.

Distraught relatives clutching photographs of missing family members have been waiting for days in the state capital, Dehradun, hoping for news.

Meanwhile, the administration is struggling to provide relief to the local communities in remote areas where thousands who have lost their homes are living in temporary camps.

bbc.com