HP landslide: GSI team to investigate Kinnaur disaster
New Delhi: A Geological Survey of India (GSI) team from Chandigarh will investigate the reasons behind the recent landslide on Chitkul-Sangla Road in Himachal Pradesh, which claimed nine lives on Sunday.
The GSI team will probe the incident that occurred on the Batseri Mountain in Kinnaur district, HP Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said in a statement on Tuesday.
Official teams are engaged in rescue work along with the army at the accident spot. About 100 to 120 people are still trapped, he said.
Kinnaur’s Deputy Commissioner Abid Hussain Sadiq said the link road connecting India’s last village, Chitkul, was closed until instructions from the Geological Department.
The Indian Army jawans and officials were rushed to the spot to rescue tourists stranded in Rachham and Chitkul, he said and warned tourists to refrain from visiting landslide-prone areas during monsoons.
Meanwhile, the National Highway Number 5 connecting Kaza, was closed after a boulder shower from Maling Nala hills, which stranded tourists in Nako and Maling. The Spiti Valley and Northern Kinnaur remained disconnected from the rest of the country.
The Saturday landslide on the Chitkul road in which a car driver narrowly escaped but nine people died on Sunday when the weakened Batseri bridge collapsed.
(Avya Mathur)
