11 October 2004	Monday	25 Shaban 1425

NEW DELHI, Oct 10: Torrential rains followed by flash floods and landslides in Assam have swept away entire villages and killed at least 150, officials said on Sunday.

More than 185,000 have been left homeless and the death toll could be significantly higher as hundreds more have been reported missing since Friday.

In the northeastern Indian state's worst affected Goalpara district nine bloated bodies were recovered from rooftops and trees Sunday as the muddy water started receding, the state-run TV channel Doordarshan reported.

An estimated 172 villages in Goalpara village were wiped out. Indian air force helicopters were pressed into service to rescue people stranded on fragile embankments. The army was also called in, but rescue operations were not always possible.

"In some areas the army was unable to reach because of the strong currents," Goalpara district official A.K. Mazumdar said. "They could not even operate motor boats to reach the marooned people."

"Nobody expected a situation of this magnitude. The toll may increase - we have been unable to contact some of our officers in the field because all communication lines are down."

Also submerged are national highways and railway lines. In Guwahati city, where several thousand homes went underwater, about 7,000 people took shelter in 17 relief camps, the state's chief minister Tarun Gogoi said. -dpa