Rescuers scouring flood-ravaged villages in western India found nearly 100 bodies Saturday, pushing the death toll from record monsoon rains to 850, a government official said Friday. Soldiers, navy divers and other rescuers have been searching for survivors since heavy rains and landslides battered vast areas of Maharashtra state on Tuesday. Nearly 100 more bodies have been recovered, mainly from Raigarh district near Bombay, the state capital, said V. Patil, a rehabilitation official in the Maharashtra government. The Associated Press quoted Patil as saying the death toll was around 850 and could rise further.
