Destroyed roads major hurdle in rescue, says NDMA

As rescue operations in the flood-hit Himalayan areas continue, a disaster management official said the destruction of roads is creating a major hurdle.

"The situation is very difficult there.... there is only one approachable road which is also damaged. The rescue operation is depending totally on helicopters," National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member J.K. Sinha told reporters.

"However, even the helicopters have limited space for landing," he said.

The NDMA member said that 4,000 Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel, 5,000-6,000 army soldiers, and nearly 500 members of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were involved in rescue operations.