11 dead, 30 feared buried under rubble in Kinnaur landslide

Eleven people have died and around 30 are feared buried after a landslide in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur District left several vehicles trapped under debris on Wednesday afternoon.

Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner Abid Hussain Sadiq said several vehicles, including a Himachal Road Transport Corporation bus carrying passengers, are buried. NDTV reported a truck was also hit.

The landslide took place on the Reckong Peo-Shimla Highway in Kinnaur at around 12.45pm. A video showed boulders and rocks rolling down the hillside with a roar before crashing into vehicles.

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The army, National Disaster Response Force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and local rescue teams have been called in, he said.

#WATCH | ITBP personnel rescue a man trapped in the debris of a landslide on Reckong Peo-Shimla Highway in Nugulsari area of Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh

As per the state govt’s latest information, nine people have been rescued & one person has died. Search operation is underway pic.twitter.com/NZ46tpg1Se

— ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2021

Sadiq also said shooting stones are still falling, which is creating problems in carrying out the rescue operation.

The rescue operations are expected to continue through the night, if not longer, news agency Reuters quoted Vivek Pandey, an ITBP spokesman, as saying. “The area is currently very dangerous,” he added.

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Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said he had asked police and the local administration for assistance. “NDRF has also been put on alert. We have received information that one bus and a car could have been hit. We are waiting for detailed information.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Thakur and assured him of all possible help from the central government.

Heavy rain has caused several landslides in parts of Himachal over the past few weeks.

Nine people were killed and many others were injured in multiple landslides in Kinnaur July 25. Eleven people, including the driver, were travelling to Chitkul, a popular tourist spot, in a vehicle when heavy boulders fell, killing eight and injuring others. Another tourist died on the way to hospital.