More than 70,000 pilgrims stranded by India flooding RUDRAPRAYAG, India, June 18 (UPI) -- Three days of floods and landslides in India brought the death toll up to more than 60 people Tuesday and left 71,440 pilgrims stranded, officials said. The highland state of Uttarakhand was among the hardest-hit areas where more than 175 houses were destroyed, 44 people died and 44 were injured, Press Trust of India reported. In Rudraprayag, the Alaknanda River's banks swelled, killing 20 people and sweeping away 73 buildings, including 40 hotels. Meanwhile, thousands of pilgrims making their way to the Himalayan shrines in Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri were stranded due to massive damage to roads, the Press Trust of India said. There were 27,040 people stranded in Chamoli, 25,000 in Rudraprayag and 9,850 in Uttarkashi, emergency officials said. Among those stranded was Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in Kinnaur. He was airlifted out of the area after 60 hours by a helicopter, Press Trust of India reported.