Floods: Over 800 000 rescued

2008-09-05 14:04

Patna - Rescue workers in flood-hit northern India have brought over 800 000 people to safety, but tens of thousands more are still believed to be trapped, officials said on Friday.

Large swathes of the already impoverished state of Bihar were flooded after flood defences along a river in southern Nepal broke, shifting the flow of the Kosi river.

Indian armed forces, other official bodies and aid groups have since used boats to hunt for survivors, some of whom have spent up to two weeks trapped on roofs or isolated high ground without food or clean water.

"A major part of evacuation is over with more than 800 000 people evacuated and shifted to safe places. About 280,000 of them are taking shelter at relief camps," Bihar Disaster Management Minister Nitish Mishra told reporters.

"It was an unprecedented operation, not only in India but in the world," Mishra said, but cautioned that some 50 000 to 100 000 people were still believed to be trapped in flooded areas.

Around 100 people are confirmed to have died in the floods, but the real number is certain to be far higher as many were simply washed away by the deep water and strong currents that swept through rural areas.

- AFP