4 die, 15 missing in Himachal flash floods

Shimla: At least four people died and 15 others went missing after flash floods triggered by heavy overnight rainfall hit Himachal Pradesh on Saturday, officials said. The railway bridge over the Chakki river on the border of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh also collapsed in the incident. The calamity was reported at several places in Mandi district […]

Shimla: At least four people died and 15 others went missing after flash floods triggered by heavy overnight rainfall hit Himachal Pradesh on Saturday, officials said.

The railway bridge over the Chakki river on the border of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh also collapsed in the incident.

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The calamity was reported at several places in Mandi district in which 15 people went missing. The other calamity-affected districts were Chamba, Kangra, Hamirpur, Shimla and Sirmaur.

In Mandi, one incident was reported at Shegli village in which a house was washed away. Six members of a family were washed away.

Another flash flood occurred at Kashang village in Gohar subdivision, in which nine people were reportedly buried in landslide debris.

Mandi Deputy Commissioner Arindam Chaudhary told the media that rescue teams have been on the spot to locate those missing.

According to the State Emergency Response Support System bulletin, the flash floods were reported in Balh, Sadar, Thunag, Mandi and Lamathach in Mandi district.

Three people died after a landslide hit Banet village Chowari tehsil burying a house in Chamba district.

State disaster management Director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta told the media here that of the 22 people, 18 were evacuated safely in Hamirpur district.

The 800-metre-long railway bridge over the Chakki river in Pathankot on the border of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh collapsed after a flash flood washed away a bridge pillar.

The narrow-gauge train service between Pathankot and Jogindernagar, commissioned by the British in 1928, was stopped last month after the bridge developed cracks. Now the pillar was washed away.

Expressing his grief over the loss of lives and damage to property due to heavy rains across the state, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur ordered all district administrations to undertake relief and rescue operations.

“Relief and rescue operations are being carried out on a war-footing with the local administrations in the respective areas,” he informed in a tweet.