Four people, including three members of a family, were killed and more than 12 others were feared missing after cloudbursts triggered landslides and flash floods in Mandi and Chamba districts on Saturday.
Eight members of a family were missing after a landslide hit a house at Kasan panchayat in Gohar sub division of Mandi district. The house is said to be that of local panchayat pradhan Khem Singh. Rescue teams were finding it difficult to reach the spot as the road connecting the village was blocked due to a landslide.
Gohar sub divisional magistrate (SDM) Raman Kumar Sharma rushed to the spot to supervise the rescue work.
The body of a girl was recovered, while four members of a family were feared drowned in a flash flood at Bagi Kataula village in the Drang area of Mandi district.
Families relocated to safer places
Rivers and streams were in spate in Mandi district. The Beas and its tributary were flowing near the danger mark.
The district administration has shut all educational institutions for a day. Mandi deputy commissioner Arindam Chaudhary said the decision was taken due to heavy rain and blocked roads.
There were reports of flash floods at Son Khud in Dharampur sub division of Mandi. Dharampur bus stand was also inundated.
The Mandi-Pathankot, Mandi-Jalandhar and Chandigarh-Manali highways were blocked for traffic.
Three of family killed in Chamba
Three members of a family died after a landslide hit their house at Banet village in Chowari sub division of Chamba district, said director, State Disaster Management Authority, Sudesh Kumar Mokhta. The Chamba DC has ordered all educational in Dalhousie, Sinhuta and Chowari to remain closed in the wake of the heavy downpour.
At least 15 people have been stranded at Kheri village in Sujanpur sub division of Hamirpur district after their houses were submerged due to flood in the Beas river. The district administration has launched a rescue operation.
In Kangra, a portion of Chakki railway bridge on the Pathankot-Jogindernagar narrow gauge line was swept away by gushing waters of the Chakki rivulet, a tributary of the Beas.
Rajiv Gandhi Government Medical College, Nagrota Bagwan, was also hit by a landslide. A retaining wall collapsed and there was threat to hostels, prompting the authorities to shift the students to safer places.
Traffic on the railway line is already suspended indefinitely since pillars of the bridge developed cracks earlier this month.
In Jogindernagar, an under-construction road bridge collapsed due to the flash flood in a stream.