Seven killed in rain-triggered landslides in Himachal’s Sirmaur district

Incessant rain in Himachal Pradesh over the past two days has disrupted road traffic and electricity supply in the Shillai sub division

Five members of a family, including four children, died when a landslide buried their house in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh.

Heavy rain over the past two days in Himachal Pradesh has disrupted road traffic and hit electricity supply in the Shillai sub division of Sirmaur district. As many as 120 lateral roads were closed for traffic due to landslides. (Reuters photo)

“Six members of a family were buried after a landslide in Raast panchayat. One of them was rescued by villagers late on Sunday night,” Sirmaur deputy commissioner Ram Kumar Gautam said, appealing to people not to venture close to rivers in the district in view of the heavy rain.

Incessant rain triggered the landslide at Khijwadi village near Ronhat under Raast panchayat in the Shillai sub division on Sunday night. A woman, identified as Mamta, 27, and her three daughters, Arang, 2, Amisha, 6, Ishita, 8, and niece Akanshika, 7, were buried alive. They were sleeping inside the house when the incident happened.

Mamta’s husband, who was rescued by villagers, escaped with injuries.

In another incident, two people died when a landslide hit Nauradhar at Baru Sahib in Nohradhar tehsil.

As many as 120 lateral roads were closed for traffic due to landslides, while 90 transformers were hit and 80 water supply lines affected due to the rains.