The toll from the landslide at Negulsari in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur went up to 17 after three more bodies were found from the rubble 70 metres downhill on Friday morning.
The bodies were recovered close to the wreckage of a bus with 22 people on board that was hit by boulders and buried under their debris.The landslide buried at least five vehicles on a road on Wednesday afternoon.
Police superintendent (Kinnaur) Sarju Ram Rana said the administration has deployed two excavators to reach the wreckage of the bus. “Manual search will continue besides two fork line machines have been deployed to remove the rubble to search for people feared trapped underneath,” said Rana.
State Disaster Management Authority director Sudesh Mokta said they have been unable to trace a car that went missing after the landslide and they also do not know how many passengers were in it. Army personnel, the Indo Tibetan Border Police, and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) as well as sniffer dogs have been rummaging through the rubble for the third day.
Rescuers earlier recovered two other cars from the rubble. Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, who visited the landslide scene on Wednesday, announced the search operation will continue till the last body is traced. Those still missing are Ravinder Singh, Chakti village, Nankhari; Surya Vansh,Nanspo village, Nichar; Arun Kumar, Nichar; Jagat Oli ,Naurav Bhadur village, Salyan; Rakesh Kumar, Nichar; Mehar Chand Tikkri village, Nirmand; Khem Lal, Gurangg village; Aanchal, Daleep Singh Giabong village; Santosh Kumari, Sungra village, Kinnaur; Karunesh, Moorang, Kinnaur; Jwala Devi, Bari village, Nichar, Kinnaur; Biraj Nath Rukum; Nepal; Prabhu Lal, Tapri, Kinnaur.
{{/usCountry}}Rescuers earlier recovered two other cars from the rubble. Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, who visited the landslide scene on Wednesday, announced the search operation will continue till the last body is traced. Those still missing are Ravinder Singh, Chakti village, Nankhari; Surya Vansh,Nanspo village, Nichar; Arun Kumar, Nichar; Jagat Oli ,Naurav Bhadur village, Salyan; Rakesh Kumar, Nichar; Mehar Chand Tikkri village, Nirmand; Khem Lal, Gurangg village; Aanchal, Daleep Singh Giabong village; Santosh Kumari, Sungra village, Kinnaur; Karunesh, Moorang, Kinnaur; Jwala Devi, Bari village, Nichar, Kinnaur; Biraj Nath Rukum; Nepal; Prabhu Lal, Tapri, Kinnaur.
{{/usCountry}}The 13 people who were injured in the shooting stone incident and were hospitalised at the Community Health Center, Bhaba Nagar, have now been shifted to the civil hospital in Rampur Bushar.
A woman and her son were also injured when a shooting stone hit a Himachal Pradesh Road Transportation bus at Negulsari when the vehicle was crossing the sliding zone on Friday afternoon. The two were taken to Community Health Centre, Bhabawa Nagar, and were discharged after receiving first-aid . National Highway-5 was opened to traffic late in the evening on Wednesday.