RUDRAPRAYAG, India, June 19 (UPI) -- The death toll from monsoon rains in India rose to 131, with hundreds of homes destroyed and 73,000 people stranded on a pilgrimage to shrines, officials said.
The rains, which eventually diminished, killed 102 people in the state of Uttarakhand and the remaining deaths were reported from Himachal Pradesh, authorities said.
Five police officers were among the victims.
Authorities said the death toll will likely rise as a search and cleanup operation continues.
In the town of Rudraprayag in Uttarakhand, 20 people drowned, and 73 buildings were swept away, India's Times News Network reported.
More than 73,000 pilgrims who were bound for Himalayan shrines remained stranded in Uttarakhand, the report said.
After the rain let up, more than a dozen helicopters were deployed in the two states for rescue and relief operations.
