Kinnaur landslide: 2 more bodies recovered, death toll climbs to 25
SHIMLA: Two more bodies were recovered from the site of a landslide in Negulsari in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district on Monday, taking the death toll to 25 on the sixth day of search and rescue operations, officials said.
State disaster management director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta said two unidentified bodies were retrieved from the debris about 500 metres below the road on which the landslide took place.
bodies are being brought to National Highway 5. Seven people are still missing, he added. An SUV and its passengers could not be traced so far. The vehicle might have rolled down with the rubble, Mokhta said.
Most bodies were found in the wreckage of a Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus, which had slid down National Highway 5 after being hit by big boulders during the landslide. The bus, carrying around 22 passengers was en route to Haridwar from Reckong Peo, when the mishap took place on August 11. A few other private vehicles, including a truck, a car and a Tata Sumo were also buried under the debris, and have now been recovered.
Kinnaur SP Sarju Ram Rana said, “The wreckage of the HRTC bus was found 70 metres down the National Highway 5. It was carrying around 22 passengers when it got buried.”
The rescue operation is being carried out jointly by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and local police and home guards.
Keeping in view the continuous rockfall, the administration has restricted the movement of all type of vehicles on the stretch from 9pm to 9am for safety. Police have been deputed at the site. Joint teams from CWC, NDRF, SASE and district administration visited another landslide site close to Jasrat village in tribal Lahaul and Spiti, which obstructed the flow of Chandrabhaga tributary.