Woman swept away, Darcha-Shinku La road closed after cloudburst in Lahaul-Spiti
Bridge washed away 16km from Darcha on Darcha-Shinku La road in Himachal Pradesh, repair to take three days
A woman was killed and a vehicle was buried in debris, while a bridge on the Darcha-Shinku La road was swept away after a fresh cloudburst triggered a flash flood near Sangam Nullah in the Kaza area of Lahaul and Spiti district on Friday night.
According to the State Emergency Operation Centre in Shimla, the woman, Yeshe Zangmo, was washed away and rescuers recovered the body later. There was no passenger in the vehicle that was buried.
The incident comes two days after cloudbursts led to flash floods in Shimla, Mandi and Kullu districts, leaving eight people dead and 45 missing.
The Border Roads Organisation is working to restore traffic on the Darcha-Shinku La road, the Lahaul-Spiti District Disaster Management Authority said, adding: “The bridge 16 km from Darcha on the Darcha-Shinku La road has been damaged due to the cloudburst, causing the closure of the road. The repair could take up to three days.”
Drones deployed to search for missing
Rescue operations were underway at Samej in Rampur sub division of Shimla district, where drones were deployed to search for those who went missing after Wednesday night’s flash flood.
Earlier on Saturday, CISF jawans recovered people’s properties from their houses at Samej. CISF head constable Rajesh Kumar said, “We are recovering properties stuck in houses following the tragedy that occurred here two days ago.”
Due to incessant rain, a landslide cut off Bandrol village from Kullu.
NH-5 opened after landslide debris cleared
Traffic on National Highway-5 was opened on Saturday morning as debris due to the landslide near Mukam Dattayar truck lay bay was cleared using JCB machines. Long queues of vehicles on the Kullu-Manali bypass road were seen as parts of the Kullu-Manali were highway washed away in the cloudburst on August 1.
Special Secretary, disaster management DC Rana said, “Thursday’s incident affected mainly the Samej area of Rampur, Bagipul area of Kullu and Paddar area of Mandi district. These three places were the epicentres of the cloudburst. On Thursday, 53 people were missing. On Friday, six bodies were recovered but 45 people are still missing.”