556 bodies found in Uttarakhand

Nearly 600 people have been killed in the Uttarakhand flood devastation, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has said, while ActionAid warned of thousands of possible deaths.

Four days after a cloudburst almost destroyed Kedarnath, home to one of India's most revered shrines, Bahuguna told CNN-IBN news channel that 556 bodies had been found even as the military and security forces rescued a large number of those stranded in the hills.

The government has so far admitted to only about 200 deaths.

"(A total of) 556 bodies have been recovered and there are reports more could be buried under the debris," the chief minister said. "This kind of disaster has never happened in the Himalayan history."

He said it would "take a long time to rebuild Uttarakhand" and that no pilgrimage to Kedarnath would be possible for at least the next two years.

Debabrat Patra, ActionAid India's regional manager for Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, said the situation in the hill state was "catastrophic".

"Our partners in the region have reported that nearly 5,000 people are still missing in Kedarnath, presumed dead," he said, in a grim forecast of what could turn out to be one of India's worst natural disasters.

Uttarakhand saw over 60 hours of continuous and heavy rains coupled with few incidents of cloudbursts at various locations June 14 to 17, which led to the flooding of the state's main rivers: Alaknanda and Bhagirathi.

According to officials and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activists, the largescale flooding had destroyed innumerable hamlets and villeges and led to the destruction of major areas such as Kedarnath and Ram Bada.

Chief Minister Bahuguna said about 30,000 people had been evacuated till now from the hills. "It is very tragic that so many people have died... It will take another 15 days to complete evacuation."

In New Delhi, Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth put the number of those evacuated at about 50,000.

Bahuguna said the rescue operation involving the military, paramilitary forces and civilians was taking time because roads had been badly damaged.

ActionAid said nearly 75,000 pilgrims were still stranded.

Both ActionAid and the cabinet secretary warned of fresh rains in the hill state from Monday. This would further hinder the rescue operation.

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said some 50,000 people were still stranded in Uttarakhand and many could be buried in the debris across the hills.

Lt. Gen. Anil Chait of the army's Central Command said his men would do their best to rescue everyone.

"No more people will die there. We will rescue all those who are stranded. We will trudge every trail, every footpath and bring home anybody who is trapped,"