STORY: Thousands of Indian defense personnel and other para-military units were involved in rescue operations in northern India on Tuesday (June 25), where devastating floods have left at least 680 dead and many thousands more still stranded.

India's Air Force and Army helicopters picked up a group of stranded pilgrims which included Hindu saints, one of whom told reporters they had been stranded for four days and ate "biscuits for sustenance."

Among the flood victims were 17 members of a single family who had been on a pilgrimage in the affected area. The two sole surviving family members reportedly witnessed their loved ones being washed away in the flood waters and were returned home on Monday to a tearful reunion in the eastern state of Odisha.

Prayers were held across India on Tuesday for those who have died in the floods, as well as for the well-being of survivors and those still stranded. In Punjab, worshippers came to the Golden Temple where donations to help