Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said he was saddened by the loss of lives due to heavy rain and landslides in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and other states in north India and urged all party workers to help in the relief measures.

He also expressed his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and hoped for a speedy recovery of the injured.

"The news of loss of lives due to heavy rains and landslides in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and other north Indian states is extremely sad. I express my deepest condolences to all the bereaved families and hope for the speedy recovery of all those injured," Gandhi said on Twitter.

"All Congress workers are requested to help the authorities in relief work. We all have to together face the difficult challenges of this natural calamity," the former party chief said.

The incessant rain and landslides claimed six lives in Uttarakhand on Sunday. Authorities in the hill state have sounded a "red" alert as the water level has risen in all the major rivers, including the Ganga, amid a forecast of more heavy showers in the next two days.

Twenty people stranded in Himachal Pradesh's tourist town of Manali were rescued, but about 300 others were stranded across various parts of the hill state as heavy rain wreaked havoc for the third day on Monday.

The state is bracing for another day of downpour, with the meteorological department issuing a "red" alert for "extremely heavy rain".

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