10 dead, 30 feared buried in landslide
13 saved after mishap on NH-5 in Himachal
Shimla, Aug. 11: Ten people were killed, 13 rescued and several others feared buried under debris after a landslide trapped a bus and other vehicles in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district on Wednesday, officials said. A video clip captured the horror of the moment.
First, shooting stones fell down the mountainside into the river below, creating small splashes of water.
Warming whistles were heard and then a big chunk of the mountain collapsed on National Highway 5 and into the river.
Fighting to complete the operation before nightfall, rescue workers struggled to pull out survivors and bodies from the debris near Chaura village in Nigulsari area of Nichar tehsil.
Hours after the landslide a little before noon, Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner Abid Hussain Sadiq said 10 bodies had been pulled out but there others feared trapped.
Eight of the dead were
found trapped in a Tata Sumo taxi.
A Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus, which was on its way from Reckong Peo to Haridwar via Shimla, was still buried under the debris, Mokhta said.
Early reports said there could be up to 40 people in the government bus but it was later found that the
number was far less.
Earlier, the Bhawanagar station house officer (SHO) said around 25 to 30 were trapped under the debris.
When the initial reports came, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said the state Assembly that 50-60 people were feared trapped under the debris but the exact number was not known.