Death toll in India floods could reach 8,000

A man is pulled across to safety on a rope, as damaged buildings and the Alaknanda river are seen in the background, during a rescue operation in Govindghat in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand on June 23, 2013. Houses and small apartment blocks on the banks of the Ganges, India's longest river and sacred to Hindus, have toppled into the rushing, swollen waters and been swept away with cars and trucks. [Photo/Agencies]