Relief officials retrieve 69 missing bodies in northern India

Indian relief officials have been able to retrieve at least 69 bodies, majority of them pilgrims, after they went missing due to floods, landslides and torrential rains in the upper reaches of Northern state of Uttrakhand on June 15, local government sources reveled on Thursday. The bodies were recovered between Rambada and Kedarnath in Kedaar Valley of Uttrakhand since the past 24 hours, sources said. Inspector General of Police R S Meena told media the bodies were retrieved from the high altitude areas where the calamity had wreaked havoc, the Kuwaiti news agency reported. "20 bodies were found in Rambada area, while the rest were recovered in Rambada and Kedarnath," he said. "The relief operations are still continuing in the area". Kedarnath hosts a sacred shrine form the Hindu devotees and is one of the four in the famous four shrines tourist circuits. It was almost completely wiped out in the disaster resulting in killings of hundreds of people. Torrential rains, flash floods, cloud bursts and landslides triggered devastation in ecologically sensitive state Uttarakhand on June 15. The calamity killed around 6000 people including tourists and pilgrims who were on their way up to kedarnath shrine. Hundreds are still missing. The disaster also washed away roads, habitations and other infrastructure in the region.