5 killed in cloudburst in Simla village

Simla, August 26: A cloudburst struck at Bandrali village, located in Narayan Panchayat in Rampur area of the district, in the wee hours of Friday washing away five members of a Nepali family while one 12-year-old deaf and mute boy of the family had a miraculous escape.

The cloudburst occurred at the hilltop of Bandrali village and the kutcha house of the Nepali family at Gawaldi village was washed away. The deceased include Lachhi Ram, his wife and three children. The cloudburst damaged the link roads and the spot, about 150 Km away from Shimla, making it inaccessible.

“The bodies of all the five deceased have been recovered with the help of locals and one 12-year-old boy survived”, Simla Deputy Commissioner Rohan Chand Thakur said.

Naresh Chauhan, president of Naren Panchayat, said in spite of the heavy rain and darkness, the local people recovered the five bodies from the debris. The gushing waters also washed away some orchards.

SDM Nishant Thakur and the DSP also rushed the spot and the bodies of the victims have been sent for post-mortem.