At least 60 people have been killed and hundreds injured after rare rainfall triggered flash floods in an area of Indian Kashmir popular with foreign fans of high-altitude adventure sports.
The floods overnight on Thursday prompted by an intense cloudburst, tore through Leh, the main town in the Buddhist-dominated Ladakh region, causing what the state Tourism Minister described as unprecedented devastation, AFP reports.
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.
