NEW DELHI, July 1 (UPI) -- Crews resumed efforts to rescue about 900 people and remove decaying bodies from Badrinath in India's flood-savaged Uttarakhand state Monday, officials said.
Despite bad weather in some locations, helicopter operations began to evacuate about 300 pilgrims and 600 residents from the Badrinath shrine to Joshimath, Press Trust of India reported.
Elsewhere in Uttarakhand, authorities were struggling with the removal of bodies from beneath tons of debris so they could be cremated.
Officials estimate about 1,000 people have died. Latest official statistics indicate about 3,000 people have been reported missing since rain and mudslides inundated Uttarakhand two weeks ago.
Appropriate officials have been asked to verify the missing persons list; if those on the list aren't traced within a month, they will be declared dead, PTI said.
Officials said only 36 bodies have been disposed of in proscribed rituals so far in the worst-hit Kedarnath shrine area and that no cremations took place for two days.
The state government sent a 200-member team of medical experts, police personnel and support staff to help extricate bodies from the rubble and perform ritual cremations, PTI said. However, with corpses lying about, the air is foul-smelling and thick, making it difficult for those sent to clear the debris to work for extended periods, the report said.
Officials last week warned against drinking river water because of the decomposing bodies and expressed concern about airborne diseases.
