Kinnaur: 14 dead and many trapped as landslide hits bus and cars on highway
Four more bodies were recovered from the landslide site in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district where the search and rescue operation resumed early on Thursday, raising the death toll to 14. Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner Abid Hussain Sadiq said that 14 bodies have been recovered so far. Thirteen people were rescued with injuries on Wednesday, while several others were still feared buried under the debris. However, the exact number was not known.
The wreckage of the Bus found early morning today.#kinnaurlandslide pic.twitter.com/b0y5CS8pHy
— ITBP (@ITBP_official) August 12, 2021
The Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus, which, along with other vehicles, was buried under the debris after the landslide, has been found in a badly damaged condition, State Disaster Management Director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta said.
However, a Bolero car still could not be traced, he added.
The HRTC bus was on its way from Reckong Peo to Haridwar via Shimla when it was hit by boulders after the landslide around Wednesday noon near Chaura village on national highway-5 in Nigulsari area of Nichar tehsil.
#Kinnaur landslide update: ITBP troops of 17, 19 & 43 Battalions are undertaking search & rescue operations with sister organizations. 3 dead bodies were retrieved since morning. Total 13 dead bodies have been retrieved till now.#kinnaurlandslide pic.twitter.com/ri3KMN4T3b
— ITBP (@ITBP_official) August 12, 2021
Meanwhile, a two-minute silence was observed in the state assembly to pay homage to those who died in the Kinnaur landslide.
Urban Development Minister Suresh Bhardwaj said Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, along with Industries and Transport Minister Bikram Singh, has gone to the spot to take stock of the rescue work.
निगुलसेरी में मलबे को देखकर उन अमूल्य जिंदगियों के बारे में सोचकर मन गम से भरा पड़ा है जिनको हम हरसंभव प्रयास के बावजूद नहीं बचा सके,उनके परिवारों को संबल प्रदान करना हमारी प्रतिबद्धता है।
प्रभावितों के दर्द को मैं समझ सकता हूं,प्रभावित परिवारों को हरसंभव सहायता प्रदान की जाएगी। pic.twitter.com/NPKtfJ3hl6— Jairam Thakur (@jairamthakurbjp) August 12, 2021
Bhardwaj said the landslide occurred at the place where people usually stop their vehicles to look at the scenic view and take photographs.
The rescue operation, being carried out jointly by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the ITBP and the members of local police and home guards, resumed at 6 am on Thursday. The authorities had suspended the operation on Wednesday at around 10 pm.
#KinnaurLandslide | NDRF personnel and ITBP troops clear debris at the site of the landslide at Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh
13 dead bodies have been recovered so far
Read here: https://t.co/u5pb1Ppq5G
(Source: State Disaster Management Authority) pic.twitter.com/lbsUswWyom— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) August 12, 2021
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur over the incident. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke to Thakur to take stock of the situation and directed the Indo-Tibetan Border Police to provide all assistance to the state government in rescue and relief operations.
Modi also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund to the next of kin of those who lost their lives due to the landslide. Rs 50,000 each would be given to the injured, his office added.
Visuals of Drone camera of the landslide site in #Kinnaur, HP earlier today. The 200 meter stretch seen covered with rubble. 2 ITBP teams are searching for the ill fated Bus from different directions in the downslopes to the river bed.#kinnaurlandslide pic.twitter.com/UOvRHFn1PL
— ITBP (@ITBP_official) August 11, 2021
Earlier on July 25, nine people were killed and three others injured in multiple landslides near Batseri in the Kinnaur district.
Similarly on July 27, at least eight people died, two were injured and two went missing in flash floods triggered by a cloudburst in Lahaul-Spiti district.
Jal Shakti Minister Mahender Singh Thakur had informed the state Assembly on August 4 that 218 people died and 12 went missing in Himachal Pradesh this monsoon season.
WITH PTI INPUTS
