Flood victims in eastern India took refuge on treetops as monsoon rains swamped homes and continued to spread misery among millions. Swelling rivers continued to break through mud embankments in the country's east and northeast on Friday, killing at least 50 people in the past 10 days and affecting more than three million. Air force helicopters dropped food packets in the eastern state of Orissa, as hundreds of villagers climbed trees, hoping to be rescued as their homes got washed away, officials said. “I have seen hundreds of people living on trees and pleading to be rescued,” Jayanarayan Mohanty, a community leader, said. In the eastern city of Jamshedpur, three alligators and a crocodile slipped out of a zoo after heavy rains flooded the park, officials said. The crocodile was later caught, but a park official said the missing alligators were a danger to the people. Heavy monsoon rains also had an impact on coal mining in eastern Jharkhand state, with production at the state-run Central Coalfield Limited down by over 50 percent. In West Bengal, trains services came to a halt in many flood-hit areas and a bridge was destroyed in West Midnapore.
