Six vehicles buried in Shimla landslide
BESIDES DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLES, THREE PEOPLE WERE ALSO RESCUED AFTER THEY WERE TRAPPED INSIDE A RESIDENTIAL BUILDING
SHIMLA:At least six vehicles were buried in a landslide on the Chandigarh-Shimla National Highway, besides damaging parts of a temple in Shimla, on Saturday. However, no loss of life was reported in the calamity.
Videos of rubble and boulders carrying a car as they rolled down the hill went viral on the social media.
“A portion of the cliff opposite the temple near Bhattakufer caved in. Boulders rolled down and smashed nearly six vehicles parked along the highway,” a police official said.
The area has been witnessing heavy rainfall for the past three days.
The highway links the state capital with prominent tourist destinations like Kufri and Naldhera and apple belts of Jubbal, Narkanda and Kharapathar and the entire Kinnaur district.
At around 1:40pm, a major part of a cliff collapsed on the Dhali-Tutikandi bypass road. Five-six vehicles that were parked near a temple were buried in the debris.
Fortunately all of them were unoccupied. Earlier, small landslips on the stretch had alerted passersby. Police reached the spot and cordoned off the area.
Besides the damage to the vehicles and the temple, three people were also trapped inside a residential building near the temple.
“The debris had blocked the door and we had to break the window to rescue them,” said Rajinder Singh, deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Shimla.
Police said the traffic has been diverted via the Sanjauli bypass.
Meanwhile, Shimla deputy commissioner Rohan Chand Thakur said, “The road clearing operation will continue throughout night. Vehicles carrying apples will ply on the SanjauliDhali bypass road.”
However, later police had to close the bypass road after many vehicles were stuck in a traffic jam.
Meanwhile, some buildings in the vicinity have been vacated and their occupants have been shifted to a safe location.
Vipul Sharma, owner of one vehicles that were buried in the debris, said his vehicle was parked near the temple.
“I got a call from my friend about the landslide. There were more vehicles parked on the other side of road,” he said.
Meanwhile, the MeT department has forecast light to moderate rainfall in the state for next few days. Shimla MeT centre director Manmohan Singh said, “More rain is expected to lash several parts of the state in the days to come.”