Rains again mar flood rescue; 5,000 stranded in Badrinath

Around 5,000 people, mostly pilgrims and tourists, remain stranded at Badrinath, as fresh spells of rain this morning in the Garhwal region including Dehradun have once again hampered search and rescue operations.

The mass cremation of the dead pilgrims at Kedarnath has also been delayed by the rain. The cremation was to begin on Tuesday, amid fears of an epidemic due to decomposing bodies.

On Wednesday, only 18 people could be cremated, with local pundits officiating over the Hindu last rites. The total number of dead bodies at Kedarnath alone is estimated to be more than 200.

The government said it was preserving the DNA of the dead, which would be used later to establish their identities. Most of the bodies are not longer in any physical condition to be identifed.

More than 5,600 Army personnel have been deployed in Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Pithoragarh districts of Uttarakhand over the last 10 days after the catastrophe hit.

"The Kedar valley has been fully evacuated. There is no need to make any further sorties to look for the stranded people there. We have completed our search operation," said air commodore Rajesh Issar, who is also an IAF task force commander, on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the bodies of all the 20 persons on board the IAF rescue chopper that crashed on Tuesday were recovered in a hilly area in Uttarakhand on Wednesday.