Up to 1,000 feared dead in India floods

(CNN) -- Indian authorities scrambled to rescue thousands of people trapped after floods and landslides ravaged the Himalayan region, leaving up to 1,000 feared dead.
The exact number of those killed will not be clear until the muddy waters are cleaned up and the bodies recovered, said Vijay Bahuguna, the chief minister of Uttarakhand state, which is the worst-hit.

"Certainly, the number of the dead is much higher than 550 ... and it could be around 1,000 as figures coming in suggest," he said Saturday.

Emergency operations include the military and all forms of transportation, including trains moving people for free.

About 70,000 have been evacuated since the floods hit this month.