Shimla, Oct 7: At least 18 passengers were killed while three were rescued as a private bus they were travelling in was struck by a massive landslide in Himachal Pradesh’s Bilaspur district on Tuesday evening, officials said.
The accident took place in Bhalughat area in Jhandutta assembly segment around 6:30 pm, they said, adding the bus carrying 30-35 passengers was on its way from Marotan to Ghumarwin.
Intermittent rains have been lashing the area since Monday.
So far 18 bodies have been recovered from the debris and three people rescued and sent to hospital, BJP MLA from Jhandutta J R Katwal, who was on the spot, told news agency over the phone.
Police and district administration officials are at the spot and rescue operations are going on in full swing. Whole mountain came crashing down on the bus, said an eyewitness engaged in the rescue operations.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Amit Shah and several other leaders expressed grief over the incident. “Saddened by the loss of lives due to a mishap in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh. My thoughts are with the affected people and their families during this difficult time. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000,” PM Modi said in a statement.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said he is monitoring the situation and has directed officials to expedite the rescue operations. “Instructions have been given to the authorities to deploy their full machinery. I am in touch with the local administration and am continuously receiving moment-by-moment updates on the entire rescue operation,” Sukhu said.
