The Indian military was Wednesday battling to rescue thousands of people stranded after floods and landslides in the north, and the Indian premier warned the toll could be far higher than current estimates. According to dpa, some 102 people have died in the state of Uttarakhand alone since Sunday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, after an aerial survey of the affected areas. "It is feared that loss of lives could eventually be much higher," Singh said. An additional 52 deaths were reported from the neighboring states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, according to broadcaster NDTV. The premier said he was distressed at the "large-scale devastation" in Uttarakhand and announced an aid package of 10 billion rupees (170 million dollars).
