LUCKNOW, India — Rescuers Friday found 40 bodies floating in the River Ganges near a Hindu holy city hit by heavy monsoon flooding that has killed more than 200 people and stranded tens of thousands, mostly pilgrims, in mountainous northern India.

The Indian air force dropped paratroopers, food and medicine for people trapped in up to 100 towns and villages cut off by monsoon rains and landslides since Sunday.

The official death toll in Uttrakhand state was 207, according to Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, but it was expected to rise as authorities reached cut-off areas. The 40 bodies discovered in the Ganges were near the city of Haridwar, police officer Rajiv Swaroop said.

Shinde told reporters in New Delhi that 34,000 people have been evacuated so far and another 50,000 were stranded in the region. Most are Hindu pilgrims who were visiting four revered shrines.

Uttrakhand spokesman Amit Chandola said the rescue operation centered on evacuating nearly 27,000 people trapped in the worst-hit Kedarnath temple area — one of the holiest Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva, located atop the Garhwal Himalayan range. The temple escaped major damage, but debris covered the area around it and television images showed the bodies of pilgrims strewn around the area.

Soldiers and other workers reopened dozens of roads by building makeshift bridges, Chandola said. Thousands of soldiers continued efforts to reach the worst-hit towns and villages, he said.