NEW DELHI, Aug 11: The death toll in the landslide in Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh has gone up to 11 by Wednesday evening while around 30 to 35 people are still reported missing. Several vehicles including a state road transport bus were hit by the landslide and were buried under debris.
Besides the state run bus, a truck and a few cars were trapped after the landslide blocked the Reckong Peo-Shimla highway. The bus reportedly had 40 people on board.
Some 25-30 people are trapped or buried, an official said. Ten people have been rescued and are in hospital.
A video showed boulders and rocks rolling down the hillside with a roar before crashing into vehicles on the highway.
Around 200 troops of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) were sent for rescue efforts.
“We expect the rescue operations to continue through the night, if not longer,” Vivek Pandey, an ITBP spokesman, said. “The area is currently very dangerous,” he added.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur told reporters that the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had also been called in.
“I’ve directed the police and the local administration to carry out rescue operations. We have received information that one bus and a car could have been hit. We are waiting for detailed information,” Thakur said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Thakur and assured him of all possible help, official sources said.
Heavy, incessant rain has caused many landslides in parts of Himachal Pradesh over the past few weeks. Last month, nine tourists were killed after huge boulders fell on their cars in another part of Kinnaur.
(Manas Dasgupta)
