INDIA. Himachal Pradesh: A massive landslip that occurred early on Wednesday morning in Shimla’s Summer Hill neighbourhood washed parts of a road and at least eight homes away. After the news of the tragedy spread, a search and rescue operation was initiated, with rescuers and specially trained dogs swiftly dispatched to the location.
On Tuesday, the Indian Air Force transported 18 army personnel in a single flight to aid the rescue operation following a landslide in Shimla. There were concerns about individuals being trapped, prompting the involvement of NDRF, SDRF, and state police in the rescue mission. Additionally, a newly constructed slaughterhouse collapsed, leading to fears of three employees losing their lives.
The Chief Minister stated in a statement that over 800 individuals have been successfully rescued so far. To intensify the rescue efforts, Army and Air Force helicopters were dispatched for relief operations in the affected region.
Following the landslide, 13 bodies were recovered from the Shiv Bodi temple in Shimla on Wednesday. The recovery of eight bodies still under debris is ongoing as search and rescue operations continue.
BS Rajput, the second in command of the 14th NDRF, stated, “According to information received, we have the proof of 21 victims here. Till yesterday, we recovered 12 bodies. Today we got one more body, so 13 bodies have been recovered. We are using specialised equipment other than heavy machinery. We can’t confirm when the search will be over because the bodies in the down area are spread over at least 2 km, and we can’t use machines there, so rescue has to be done manually.”
To expedite debris clearance and save the remaining survivors, heavy machinery like JCBs has been deployed, along with lighter equipment for elevated regions that larger machinery cannot reach.
SDM Shimla (Urban) Bhanu Gupta provided information about the significant landslide in the Summer Hill area, stating that local residents have backed up the estimate of 21 bodies. 12 of those bodies have been found in the past two days. Our search and rescue effort is still active, SDM added.
The team have members of the NDRF, SDRF, army, local police, and home guard. If there is any positive news that some people are still alive, the team will appropriately rescue them, SDM said.
The continuous heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh has led to various incidents, such as landslides, cloudbursts, and disruptions in traffic flow. Sadly, the state has witnessed a loss of at least 55 lives due to these incidents.
To intensify disaster management activities, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu convened a meeting with a committee on Tuesday.
Sukhu stated that the entire state had experienced substantial harm due to a 157% rise in rainfall over the past four days. He emphasised his government’s full dedication to continuing the restoration efforts. He noted that only 400 out of the 1,220 obstructed roads had been restored to their initial state.
The Chief Minister also provided instructions for the rapid re-establishment of the impacted energy and water systems.
Shimla’s Superintendent of Police, Sanjeev Gandhi, stated earlier that “our primary focus is to rescue more and more people. One casualty has been reported so far. All agencies are working to save lives. About 10–15 houses have been vacated, and the occupants shifted to safe places,” adding, “The loss of property is yet to be ascertained.”
Parts of Himachal Pradesh continue to suffer from significant destruction, with homes and other structures being adversely affected. Following Tuesday’s landslide, approximately 5-7 houses in Shimla’s Krishna Nagar locality collapsed.
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