Landslide in Indian Himalayas leaves several dead and dozens trapped

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Landslide in Indian Himalayas leaves several dead and dozens trapped

Aug 12, 2021: A landslide in the mountainous Indian state of Himachal Pradesh has killed at least 10 people, injured 14 and left dozens stranded when rocks fell on a major highway, shattering several vehicles and burying them, Indian officials said.

A statement from the office of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur on Wednesday said that “about 60 people are feared to be buried under the rubble”.

Paramilitary Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) spokesman Vivek Kumar Pandey told Reuters that those still trapped included passengers on the bus trapped under the rubble. Pandey said that there was a massive landslide on Reckong Peo-Shimla Highway.

We are trying to reach the bus. A site police official said that rocks were still falling in the area. The official added that the 14 survivors were “injured but should recover after treatment”.

Abid Hussain Sadiq, a senior government official in Kinnaur district where the incident took place, said rescue operations could continue overnight in an effort to find survivors.

More than 200 personnel, including army, paramilitary and local police, are working on a section of National Highway 5 that runs along the Sutlej River and connects northern India to the Chinese border, officials said. 

Local police chief Saju Ram Rana said the landslide, which occurred around noon on Wednesday, loosened large boulders and sent them down a steep hillside, blocking 150 meters of the highway. “The debris fell from a great height,” Rana told Reuters, adding that heavy machinery was being brought in to clear the area.

In photos shared on social media by authorities, helmet-wearing rescue workers can be seen walking around the sloping remains of vehicles trapped in rocks and loose ground. “The bus, reportedly under the rubble, is now visible. Earthmover machines are clearing the rubble. It will take one to two hours to reach the bus,” the ITBP said in an update from the rescue site.

Landslides are common in the northern Himalayan region of India, especially during the current monsoon season when heavy rains hit the ground and rocks.

Climate change has exacerbated the situation, with monsoons becoming more erratic and glaciers melting in the mountains. Roads in the area are also often poorly maintained.

At the end of July, landslides in different parts of Kinnaur district killed at least nine people, and landslides and floods in another area of ​​Himachal Pradesh in recent weeks have left dozens stranded.

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