Rescuers are searching for bodies in the debris of destroyed homes in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand where 34 people have been killed by heavy monsoon rains.

The downpours which started on Thursday triggered landslides and flash floods.

Many rivers were running above the danger mark, officials said.

And 23 workers of the state-run Assi Ganga hydro-electric project, who went missing on Saturday after a cloudburst, have been declared dead.

The men went missing in the Uttarkashi district.

Members of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and state police have joined the rescue effort in the state where hundreds of homes have been washed away and more than 2,000 have taken shelter in relief camps.

Torrential rains have also hit the nearby Indian state of Himachal Pradesh and parts of the Jammu region in Indian-administered Kashmir, officials said.

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