At least 46 dead in Himachal landslide; rescue ops to resume on Monday

Indian army soldiers and rescue personnel look for survivors at the side of a landslide along a highway roughly 200 kilometres 124 miles from Himachal Pradesh state capital Shimla PicAFPA massive landslide buried two Himachal Pradesh roadways buses killing at least 46 people and injuring several others at Kotpuri near Padhar on the MandiiquestPathankot national highway today officials saidThe toll could rise further as over 50 passengers were travelling in the two buses hit by the landslide which was triggered by a cloud burst they said Some other vehicles may also have been hit the officials saidFortysix bodies have been recovered and of these 23 have been identified an official saidRescue operations were suspended late evening as there were apprehensions of more landslides he said adding the rescue work would resume tomorrowTeams of the National Disaster Response Force NDRF the Army and the police rushed to the spot and heavy earthmoving machinery was deployed at the gorge where the two buses lay buried under a heap of debrisChief Minister Virbhadra Singh visited the spot He said that eight passengers were travelling in the ManaliKatra Volvo bus of whom three lost their lives while five were rescued and taken to the zonal hospital in MandiThere were around 47 passengers in the second bus which was on its way from Manali to Chamba an official said The chief minister said the state government would bear medical expenses of the injured He also met the bereaved family members and expressed condolencesHealth Minister Kaul Singh Thakur Transport Minister G S Bali and Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anil Sharma also reached the spotThakur announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased while Bali announced that Rs 1 lakh would be given to each bereaved family by the HRTCThe massive landslide covering an area of more than 250 metres may have swept away some other vehicles also and damaged some houses an official saidThe highway was closed and hundreds of vehicles were stranded on both sides officials saidD D Sharma Director Disaster management Himachal Pradesh government said that a team of forensic experts had also been called considering that several of the bodies were mutilatedPrime Minister Narendra Modi also condoled the deaths Pained by the loss of lives due to landslide related accidents in HPs Mandi district My condolences with the families of the deceased Modi tweetedI pray for the quick recovery of those injured he addedThis is the third such major incident in Himachal Pradesh since 1988 Earlier 45 bus passengers were buried in a landslide near Matiyana in Shimla district in 1988 while 42 passengers were buried in an incident at Luggar Hati in Kullu district in 1994The district administration released the names of 12 victims including two women The deceased were identified as Suruchi Thakur from Jogindernagar Neha from Sarkaghat Vinod Kumar From Padhar Suresh Kumar from Mandi Babu Ram from Udhampur Pawan Kumar from Manali Khub Ram from Kullu Kartar Chand from Baijnath Subash Singh and Mandeep Singh from Jammu and Kashmir and Ajay from Kapurthla in PunjabAnxious relatives awaited the news of their relatives who were travelling in the busesMala Devi from Kullu rushed to the spot after she came to know that about the accident Her three children were returning in one of the buses with their aunt from Chamba where they had spent their summer vacationsAn eyewitness Bodh Raj who was travelling in a jeep along with two other persons said he had stopped his jeep 100 metres behind a bridge Meanwhile the ChambaManali bus arrived and stopped near the bridgeSuddenly the hillside came crashing down and the bus was pushed into a deep gorge and covered under debrisAlso seeThen and Now Smriti Iranis journey from a model to Union Minister