Himachal rain: Girl dies in landslide in Shimla, four missing in Kullu

Police said the 14-year-old girl succumbed to head injuries, while her elder sister and another teenaged girl sustained serious injuries when boulders rolled on to their tent after a landslide in Shimla.

Heavy overnight rain in Himachal Pradesh triggered a landslide on the Dhalli-Tuttikandi bypass in Shimla, leaving a teenaged girl dead, while rescuers searched for four missing workers after a cloudburst led to a flash flood at Chonjh village in Kullu early on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, two persons were injured after a landslide struck at Saloti village in Nirmand Tehsil of Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh. Heavy rain wreaked havoc in Kullu district, where a flash flood at Malana left 30 workers of the local hydel project trapped in the morning. (HT FILE)

Police said the 14-year-old girl succumbed to head injuries, while her elder sister and another teenaged girl sustained serious injuries when boulders rolled on to their tent after a landslide in Shimla. The deceased was identified as Kareena, the daughter of Satpal, a resident of Haryana. Police said her elder sister Kulwinder, 24, and another teenager, Asha, were rushed to Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Shimla.

Deputy superintendent of police Kamal Thakur said two vehicles parked along the road were also damaged when the boulders fell on them.

Meanwhile, two persons were injured after a landslide struck at Saloti village in Nirmand Tehsil of Kullu district. They were given treatment at Zonal Hospital, Nirmand. The landslide also blocked the Bagha-Shnan road and efforts were on to restore the traffic on the stretch.

Hydel project workers rescued

Heavy rain wreaked havoc in Kullu district, where a flash flood at Malana left 30 workers of the local hydel project trapped in the morning. The workers were rescued though a bridge in the area was damaged, said special secretary, revenue, and State Disaster Management Authority director Sudesh Mokta.

A cloudburst occurred at Chonjh village in Kullu, leading to a flash flood after which four people went missing from a camping site. “A search is on for the missing people,” Mokta said, adding that five heads of cattle had perished in the flood.

Those missing from the camping site are Rohit from Sundernagar, Kapil Sharma from Rajasthan, Rahul Chaudhary from Dharamshala and Arjun from Banjar.

The police said three camping sites were damaged due to heavy rain besides a guest house that was partially damaged.

Orange alert for heavy rain today

The meteorological department has issued an orange alert for heavy rain and thunderstorm for Wednesday and a yellow alert for the next three days.

“There is likely to be heavy to very heavy rain in isolated pockets in the plains and mid-hills,” Shimla meteorological department director Surender Paul said.

Essential services could be hit due to heavy rainfall as there are high chances of landslides and commuters are advised caution.

Tattapani in Mandi district got 103mm of rainfall followed by Berthin 95mm, Sunni 90mm, Mashobra 82mm, Kufri 81mm, Baldwara 78mm, Dharamshala 76mm, Jhandutta 70mm, Bilaspur 63mm, Narkanda 61mm, Shilaru, Renuka and Dadahu 57mm each, Manali 55mm, Rampur and Palampur 52mm each, Ghumarwin 50mm, Shimla 47mm, Naina Devi 46mm, Sangrah 45mm, Rohru 43mm, Jubbal and Jogindernagar 42mm, Rajgarh 41mm, Kothi 38mm, Chaupal 37mm, Kotkhai 36mm, Sundernagar 33mm, Sarahan 32mm, Arki 30mm, Pachhad 29mm, Khadrala 25mm, Pandoh 23mm, Kandaghat 22mm and Karsog 21mm.