Five killed as heavy rains trigger landslides in Himachal; Beas in spate

Heavy rains have battered Himachal Pradesh, triggering floods and landslides across the state. Three persons were killed after their house collapsed following heavy rains. The vehicular movement on the National Highway 3 is also closed.

Shimla/Rampur (Himachal Pradesh): Incessant rains have lashed Himachal Pradesh since Saturday triggering landslides, damaging houses and leaving five people dead, officials said on Sunday. Three members of a family were killed after their house collapsed in Panewali village of Shimla district. Rampur Deputy Superintendent of Police Shivani said that the incident occurred on Sunday morning and they recovered three bodies from the spot.

"Two others, who sustained injuries, have been admitted to the Kumarsen Hospital. The bodies have been sent to Kumarsen Hospital for postmortem," a local police official said. A landslide also damaged a makeshift house near Kullu town, leaving a woman dead. In another incident, a person was buried alive following a landslide in Katiyan tehsil of Chamba on Saturday night.

A flash flood and a landslide occurred in the Gramphu village and Chota Dharra area at Lahual and Spiti in the wee hours of Sunday. However, no casualties were reported in the incident. District Emergency Operation Center Lahaul Spiti informed that an incident of flash flood and landslide was reported along the AEC BRO 94 RCC, NH 505 (Sumdo Kaza-Gramphu) which is blocked at different locations between Gramphu to Chota Dharra.

According to an official statement issued by the Himachal Pradesh State Emergency Operations Centre (HPSEOC), a group of 30 college students were rescued safely after they were struck on the road due to a landslide.

"A Group of 30 college students travelling on two buses of Bhavna Travelers from Spiti to Manali. They were stuck on the road due to road blocking. All 30 students were rescued safely, it said. The authorities also said that men and resources would be deployed to clear the debris once the weather improves.

Landslides occurred in Kullu due to heavy rainfall and after that vehicular traffic was restricted. The Beas River was in a spate amid continuous heavy rainfall in the Mandi and Kullu regions of the state. A portion of the National Highway 3 was washed away due to the overflowing of the Beas River in Kullu. Traffic movement has been restricted on the Highway from Mandi towards Kullu due to landslides.

Meanwhile, the train movement on the Shimla-Kalka heritage rail track is cancelled for today (July 9) due to ongoing heavy rains and subsequent slides and waterlogging, officials said.

A team of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) also safely evacuated six people, who were trapped in their homes due to the rise in the water level of the Beas River in the lower market of Pandoh, early on Sunday.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday issued a red alert for seven districts of Himachal Pradesh, warning of extremely heavy rainfall on July 8 and 9. The weather body predicted that these districts could get 204 mm of rain in one day.

The IMD in a statement said that under the influence of an active western disturbance, intense spells of extremely heavy rainfall are likely at isolated places in Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Una, Hamirpur and Bilaspur districts on July 8 and 9. It asked the residents to be prepared for flooding and landslides.