NEW DELHI, July 1 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 people were killed and more than 30 others feared buried on Friday in landslides triggered by cloudbursts and heavy rains in northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, officials said.
The landslides hit Pithoragarh and Chamoli districts, east of Dehradun city, the capital of Uttarakhand early Friday.
"A major tragedy has struck Pithoragarh and still so many people are buried," Harish Rawat, chief minister of the Uttarakhand, told media. "We have sent teams of state disaster management force, paramilitary and other volunteers to the affected areas to carry out rescue operations."
Officials said they have sent rescue teams and issued an alert, however the rains are impeding the rescue efforts.
"So far six bodies have from retrieved from Pithoragarh and four bodies from Chamoli districts," a disaster management official told Xinhua. "There are reports that some people have been washed away and some are buried underneath the landslides."
The Meteorological department officials have predicted more rains in the next 72 hours in Nainital, Udhamsingh Nagar, Champawat, Almorah, Pauri, Haridwar, Tehri and Dehradun.
The rains have pushed up water level in the rivers and waterbodies.
Reports said landslides have blocked Rishikesh-Badrinath national highway at many places, and long queues of stranded vehicles were seen on both sides of the highway.
The local government has announced a monetary relief of 2,971 U.S. dollars to each victim family.
Uttrakhand has a rugged terrain. Landslides are often triggered from its mountains during frequent rains.
In June 2013, nearly 6,000 people, including Hindu pilgrims and tourists, were killed by floods and landslides in the state.
