Death toll in Kinnaur landslide mounts to 14; rescue operations resume
The death toll in the Himachal Pradesh landslide has shot up to 14, as four more bodies have been recovered from the site in Kinnaur district as search and rescue operation resumed early on Thursday (August 12), said officials.
The Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner Abid Hussain Sadiq has confirmed that after the recovery of four bodies from the landslide debris and wreckage the death toll has risen to 14.
The Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus, which was buried under the debris along with other vehicles after the landslide, has been found in a badly damaged condition, said media reports. The joint rescue operations of ITBP, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, were hampered by falling rocks, officials said.
In fact, rescue operation was suspended at around 10 pm on Wednesday and resumed at 6am today.
Also read: Why landslides have become so common in Himachal Pradesh
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses told officials that large boulders had tumbled down the mountain side around 12.45 pm on Wednesday (August 11) and on to NH-5 from Kinnaur to Shimla.
The 30-seater HRTC bus, with 22 people onboard, was on its way from Reckong Peo to Haridwar via Shimla when it was hit by the boulders, near Chaura village on national highway-5 in Nigulsari area of Nichar tehsil. The wreckage of the HRTC bus is seen spread over 100 metres of area in the middle of the rubble.
The state transport bus’s driver Mahinder Pal and conductor Gulab Singh, and 11 others have been rescued and taken to a local hospital, said an Indian Express report. The relatives of the missing bus passengers, who were largely from Kinnaur district, approached the local authorities to know about their whereabouts.
Also read: 11 dead, 30 feared buried under rubble in Kinnaur landslide
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, who had visited the search and rescue site in Kinnaur earlier today said 60 people were feared trapped under the debris. The CM tweeted, “For me these moments are very painful. I visited the landslide site and took stock of the relief and rescue work”.
The CM also visited the community health centre in Bhaba Nagar of Kinnaur district to inquire about the people who were injured in the landslide yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Rashtrapati Bhavan too tweeted that President Ram Nath Govind spoke with Himachal Pradesh Governor, Shri Rajendra Arlekar and Chief Minister Shri Jai Ram Thakur to know about the tragedy at Kinnaur.
“I expressed my concern about people’s safety. I was told that all steps are being taken to bring the affected people to safety. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and I wish speedy recovery of the injured,” said the Rashtrapati Bhavan said on Twitter on Thursday.
