Another tragic accident struck Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday when a landslide hit an HRTC moving bus, approximately carrying about 40 passengers. The driver of the bus who survived the tragedy informed district authorities at Kinnaur about the accident. So far, around 13 persons have been rescued and two bodies have been retrieved from the site. The operation may continue till all the missing persons are traced or rescued .
The landslide occurred at around 11.50 am in Chaura village in Kinnaur, the officials said.
As per the latest information from DEOC-Kinnaur due to the landslide 1 HRTC Bus and 1 Car, 1 Tipper (tuck) are damaged
near the vicinity of the slide area due to the continuous slide the SAR Team are unable to reach the incident site. It is informed by SHO-Bhawanager that around 25 to 30 passengers are stuck or trapped at the incident site.
- SAR Team comprising members of Local Police, Home Guards, NDRF-Jeori, ITBP-Jeori
- Bus driver is rescued safely
Over 40 persons are feared buried under the debris Deputy Commissioner Abid Hussain Sadiq said. As per reports, two army helicopters have been arranged for rescue after PM Modi spoke to Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.
“PM @narendramodi spoke to Himachal Pradesh CM @jairamthakurbjp regarding the situation in the wake of the landslide in Kinnaur. PM assured all possible support in the ongoing rescue operations,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.
Sadiq told PTI that several vehicles, including a Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus carrying over 40 passengers, are buried under the debris.
The bus was on its way from Reckong Peo in Kinnaur to Shimla, he said.
State Disaster Management Force Director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta said at least nine persons were pulled out of the rubble in an injured condition during the initial hours of the rescue operation.
The Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local rescue teams have been called in for the rescue work, the Kinnaur deputy commissioner said.
“The scene was really ghostly reflecting the scale of the tragedy and loss of human loss in the calamity happening at this site after a long time .Nigulsari as such is considered a critical accident prone area” said Narinder Sharma, District Public Relations Officer (DPRO),Kinnaur .
Sadiq also said shooting stones are still falling which is creating problems in carrying out the rescue operation.
The incident occurred on NH 5 near Nigulsari in Kinnaur. Many are feared to be trapped in the debris.
