At least 60 people were killed and hundreds injured after rare rainfall triggered flash floods Friday in an area of Indian Kashmir popular with foreign fans of high-altitude adventure sports.
The overnight floods, prompted by an intense cloudburst, tore through Leh, the main town in the Buddhist-dominated Ladakh region, causing "unprecedented" devastation.
Television footage showed scenes reminiscent of an earthquake, with collapsed buildings, downed power lines and residents scrabbling knee-deep through mud to try to dig survivors out of the rubble.
The floods hit Leh and surrounding villages without warning during the night when most residents were asleep.
He said the death toll was likely to rise "significantly" with dozens still missing in Leh and rescue workers unable to reach some of the affected districts nearby. The military had been called in to help with the relief efforts.The Indian army has a large presence in Ladakh, which shares a sensitive border with neighbouring China.
The force of the flash flood was so strong that it destroyed part of a camp belonging to the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force.
"More than a dozen of CRPF vehicles got washed away, the DGP of Jammu Kashmir, Mr. Kuldeep Khoda, said that among the dead, there were three Jawans whose dead bodies have been found.
Telephone and other communication systems have been totally hampered by the floods.
The mountainous region, sitting in the southeastern part of Muslim-majority Kashmir, is popular with foreign adventure tourists interested in Himalayan trekking and river-running.
August is the peak tourist season in Ladakh, which experiences extreme weather conditions and is largely inaccessible during the harsh winter.
Some 3,500 metres (11,500 feet) above sea level, Leh is surrounded by high-altitude desert where heavy rainfall is uncommon.
The town was effectively cut off Friday, with the flood waters washing away sections of the main highways to the popular backpacker destination of Manali and the Kashmiri summer capital, Srinagar.
"So far, no reports of any tourists among the dead, but some are stranded on the Leh-Manali road. The army has sent rescue teams there," A police spokesman said Leh airport had also been damaged, stopping all incoming and outgoing flights.
Daily temperature fluctuations in Leh are dramatic. In the summer months, the thermometer can plunge to minus 3 degrees Celsius during the night and then rise as high as 30 degrees during the day.
Ravi Ramaswamy, the director of a travel agency in Leh said that,"I would say we are seeing something quite unusual this year. We have had intense snow melt because of soaring daytime temperatures and the rivers have been running at alarming levels,"
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