Rescue operation underway at the site of a landslide in Kinnaur (Indo Tibetan Border Police via AP)Kinnaur landslide live news updates: Four more bodies were recovered from landslide site in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district where the search and rescue operation resumed early on Thursday, raising the death toll to 14, officials said. The Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus, which, along with other vehicles, was buried under the debris after the landslide, has been found in a badly damaged condition.
Speaking to The Indian Express, officials cited eyewitness accounts of large boulders tumbling down the mountain side around 12.45 pm and on to NH-5 from Kinnaur to Shimla. At least 13 people, including the state transport bus’s driver Mahinder Pal and conductor Gulab Singh, have been rescued and taken to a local hospital, they said.
Teams of ITBP, along with units of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), are engaged in rescue operations that continue to be hindered by falling rocks, officials said.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said 60 people were feared trapped under the debris. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have assured all help from the Centre. Thakur said that the Army, too, has offered help including the deployment of a helicopter.
Rescue operations are underway at the landslide site in Nugulsarai area.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur visited the search and rescue site in Kinnaur earlier in the day. He then reached the Community Health Centre in Bhaba Nagar of Kinnaur district to inquire about the well being of those injured in the landslide yesterday.
The Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus, which, along with other vehicles, was buried under the debris after the landslide, has been found in a badly damaged condition, State Disaster Management Director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta said. However, a Bolero car still could not be traced, he added. The HRTC bus was on its way from Reckong Peo to Haridwar via Shimla when it was hit by boulders after the landslide around Wednesday noon near Chaura village on national highway-5 in Nigulsari area of Nichar tehsil.
Three bodies were recovered from the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus, which, along with other vehicles, was buried under the debris, State Disaster Management Director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta said. The bus was found in a badly damaged condition, he added. Another vehicle, a Bolero, still lies buried under the rubble.
Another body has been recovered by Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel from the wreckage of a bus following the landslide in Kinnaur. Death toll rises to 11.
Footage from a drone camera over the landslide site in Kinnaur shows a 200-meter stretch covered with rubble.
The District Emergency Operation Centre of Kinnaur has released the details of those deceased and injured in the landslide on the Reckong Peo-Shimla Highway. 13 people have been rescued so far, including a resident of Nepal, whereas 10 people have lost their lives.
After clearing the debris on the road the rescue teams have found only one panel of the bus. So far, there have been no traces of the passengers. ITBP teams have gone towards the river bed in multiple directions to find the bus.
The HRTC bus which was reported to have come under the rubble is visible now. With the machines clearing away the debris, it will take nearly 1 to 2 hours to reach to the bus in which more than 25 persons are believed to have been trapped.
So far, ten bodies have been recovered, while thirteen people have been injured due to the landslide in the Nugulsari area, Deputy Commissioner, Kinnaur, Abid Hussain Sadiq was quoted as saying by PTI.
The ITBP has recovered one more body from the debris at the Reckong Peo- Shimla Highway, taking the death toll to five.
The ITBP has recovered another dead body at the landslide site, raising the death toll to four. So far, 12 injured persons have been rescued from the spot.
"My heart goes out to the families affected by the landslide in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh. Praying for everyone's safety and successful rescue of those trapped at the site," Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was quoted as saying by the official twitter account of the CMO.
As the rescue operations continue at the landslide site, three persons have been found dead, while seven injured have been taken to the hospital. Nearly 30 people are feared buried under the debris.
Nearly 300 ITBP personnel have been deployed at the landslide site. So far, ten people have been rescued according to state officials.
The ITBP personnel can be seen digging through the debris to carry out the rescue operations. Over forty people are feared buried under the rubble.
The Himachal Pradesh Emergency Operation Centre has said that two people have been found dead, while ten people have been rescued from the landslide site, so far. (ANI)
As search operations continue, visuals show ITBP personnel rescuing a man trapped inside the debris.
The ITBP teams have rescued nine persons from the debris, according to news agency ANI. One person has been reported dead at the landslide site. Over forty persons are feared to buried under the rubble.
The ITBP personnel have rescued five persons from the site on Reckong Peo-Shimla Highway near Nugulsari, District Kinnaur, HP.
ITBP Spokesperson Vivek Pandy stated that around 200 jawans from three batallions of the ITBP have reached the spot. However, the area is currently very dangerous and teams have been waiting for over an hour for the shooting stones to stop, he was quoted as saying by ANI.