10 dead, 13 rescued as landslide hits Hiamachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur

At least 10 people were killed in a massive landslide on National Highway 5 in the challenging terrain of Himachal Pradeshs Kinnaur district while 13 others were extricated as rescue operations were launched to retrieve over 25 people feared trapped in the debris police saidThe authorities suspect a truck a state roadways bus and other vehicles were buried in the landslide that occurred over a 6070 metre stretch of the ShimlaReckong Peo highway near Nigulsari some 180 km from the state capital The bus has not been traced yet IndoTibetan Border Police ITBP Public Relations Officer Vivek Pandey told the mediaThe terrain is really tough Shooting stones are still a big worry and hampering the rescue operation So is the rain The main cause of the concern is that the bus has not been traced yet There were more than 20 people in the bus They may be 25 also And the only worry is that the bus may have rolled into a 300feet deep gorge and fallen into the Satluj river he saidAll other four vehicles were buried at the site right now it is very difficult to tell anything about the number of casualties there is no problem of manpower we have stationed sufficient manpower to carry out even the rescue operation in the night Pandey addedBesides the ITBP local authorities the Army and the National Disaster Response Force NDRF are involved in rescue operations which is likely to continue in the night also The Himachal Road Transport Corporation bus was on its way to Hardwar from Rekong Peo via ShimlaRelatives of missing bus passengers approached the local authorities to know about their whereabouts Most of the victims belong to nearby villages A few boulders started rolling down just ahead of the disaster Sensing trouble I ran towards the other side and managed to save myself a survivor saidChief Minister Jai Ram Thakur told reporters in Shimla that he directed the Kinnaur administration to speed up relief and rescue operationThe exact casualties in the landslide are yet to be ascertained Sensing the gravity of the situation the NDRF has been summoned for rescuing the people he saidA statement by the state emergency operation centre said one Tata Sumo was recovered from the debris and eight bodies found in it Around 2530 people are still buried under the bouldersAlso Read Himachal Pradesh Landslide in Solan search on for trapped peoplePrime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Thakur and assured him of all possible help This is the second major natural disaster in Kinnaur in less than a month Nine people most of them tourists were killed by a landslide as boulders fell and hit the vehicle they were travelling in This monsoon also caused major landslides in the states Kangra district claiming 10 lives Terrifying videos capturing massive landslides in Sirmaur district are common these daysSeven people died in the exceptionally high rainfall across the cold desert of LahaulSpiti district on July 2728 Keylong and Udaipur subdivision of the district faced 12 incidents of flash flood after a cloudburst in which the Tozing Nallahs impact was devastatingThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever