46 killed as landslide washes away hill road in Himachal

At least 46 people were killed and 10 missing after a landslide triggered by a cloudburst swept away several vehicles and stretch of a busy highway in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday.

Mandi deputy commissioner Sandeep Kadam said a team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and army dug through mounds of mud and stones to recover 46 bodies from the site. The rescuers also pulled out five people alive from the rubble. They were rushed to the zonal hospital at Mandi with severe injuries.

Apart from the 200-metre stretch of the Mandi-Pathankot highway, the landslide that took place around 1.15am at Kotrupi village washed away two buses of Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC), two cars and a motorcycle. Five houses were also damaged.

Himachal transport minister GS Bali said the toll could rise. Kadam said at least 10 people are feared trapped under the landslide debris.

PM Narendra Modi took to Twitter to condole the incident. “Pained by the loss of lives due to landslide-related accidents in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district. My condolences with the families of the deceased,” Modi tweeted. Most of the victims are believed to be passengers of the two buses that were caught in the landslide. Eight passengers were on board the bus going from Manali to Katra, while the bus on its way to Manali from Chamba was carrying 50 passengers.