New Delhi: More than 60 people have lost their lives in the ongoing rain fury which triggered landslides, cloudbursts in various districts of Himachal Pradesh. Rescue operations are underway to save people trapped under debris.
Dozens have died in landslides in Summer Hill, Krishna Nagar and Fagli in the state capital Shimla since Sunday, while another was reported on Wednesday morning in Summer Hill again.
An official said 13 bodies have been recovered from the debris in Summer Hill, five from Fagli and two from Krishna Nagar. Several others are feared buried in the debris of a temple that collapsed on Monday.
A landslide washed away around eight houses in Krishna Nagar in the heart of Shimla last evening, killing two people. Several other houses were vacated.
A cloudburst incident in Solan district killed seven people on Monday.
Over 800 people have been rescued from the low-lying areas and evacuation efforts are on, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh said today, sharing a video of rescued citizens alighting a helicopter.
All schools and colleges across the state will remain closed till August 19 in view of the extreme weather. Himachal Pradesh University too has suspended teaching activities till then.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast that isolated but heavy rainfall is likely to continue over Himachal Pradesh in the next two days and over Uttarakhand and northeast India in the next 4-5 days.