Some 150 pilgrims swept away after India dam opens

DHARAJI, India, Tuesday (Reuters) Hundreds of wailing pilgrims lined the banks of a holy river in central India on Tuesday praying for loved ones after more than 150 people either drowned or were missing when the gates of a nearby dam were opened.

Some hastily cremated their dead among the scores swept away when the upstream dam released water for power generation on Saturday when an estimated 300,000 Hindus had gathered on the banks of the now calm Narmada river to pray.

Others cried in hope, that the four boats and several divers still scouring the waters for survivors or more bodies from Saturday's tragedy will find their missing mother, their missing father, sisters, brothers and children. Officials said the bodies of 65 people had been traced so far but more than 90 remained missing.

For Ambaram Kakaria, it was too late. She sobbed as she performed the last rites over her 19-year-old nephew Babulal, who was due to be married soon. "I would have never allowed my nephew to come to this place had I known that I would be losing him forever," she said. "I was planning to get him married in a couple of weeks."