Homes Fall Into River

People are washed away as buildings topple into the water - around 50 are missing in India's Uttarakhand state.At least 23 people have been killed in northern India after torrential rain and flooding led to homes plunging into the River Ganges and roads being washed away. More than a dozen people died in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand state, while another 50 people were missing, said officials. A landslide triggered by the monsoon rains, which arrived weeks ahead of schedule, buried a bus, killing three in Almora district. Heavy rains eroded the soil along the swollenriver, plunging several houses into the water. At least three people were washed away when a three-storey apartmentbuilding toppled into the water and was carried away by the swift-moving current, said government spokesman Amit Chandola. Many residents in the town of Yamunagar in northern Haryana state said they were trapped by the floods. The monsoon rains arrived weeks ahead of schedule "We are caught here as there is water everywhere. There is no way to go. Nobody has come here, even police haven't come here to check if anyone has drowned," said local resident Ajay Singh. Army and paramilitary troops were leading efforts torescue scores ofpeople from the rooftops of their flooded homes. The state government was preparing food parcels and drinking water pouches to be airdropped to villages cut off after roads werewashed away. More than 10,000pilgrims strandedalong a mountain pass leading to aHindu religious site were being evacuated by helicopter after roads to the pilgrimage spot were blocked by landslides. The River Ganges and its tributaries were flowing above the danger mark in several areas in the Himalayan state. "The situation is very grim. The meteorological office has predicted that the rain will continue for another three days at least," said Mr Chandola.