Three bodies were recovered in Kangra on Thursday, taking the toll from flash floods triggered by cloudbursts to five, said officials.
Search operations are on to find the missing persons — three each from Kullu and Kangra. Meanwhile, an unknown person died after drowning in a rivulet in Kullu on Thursday. The flash floods occurred in Kangra and Kullu districts on Wednesday.
“Out of five, four were identified. As per the information provided to us by the contractor at the Hydroelectric power project, three people are still missing. Separately, a man, who had climbed up and entered a forest area to save himself yesterday from the increased water at the hydro power project site, was traced today,” said Deputy Commissioner (Kangra) Hemraj Bairwa.
The three deceased have been identified as Chain Singh, a resident of Jammu & Kashmir, Aditya Thakur from Chamba, and Pardeep Verma and Chandan from Uttar Pradesh, Kangra SP Shalini Agnihotri said.
Deputy Commissioner (Kullu)Torul S Raveesh, said a search was on for three persons who had gone missing on Wednesday in Sainj valley. “We have called the teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to assist,” he said.
“A man died today (Thursday) due to drowning in a rivulet which was overflowing due to incessant rain. The victim appeared to be a tourist who might have gone close to the river. Many saw him drowning. His identity is yet to be established,” Raveesh said.
Meanwhile, scores of tourists were stranded in Manikaran Valley, Banjar, Kullu and Manali due to the incessant rain and damage to roads. Officials said efforts are on to rescue them.
Story continues below this ad
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said more than 15 houses collapsed and were washed away in the cloudbursts. “Around nine flash floods along with three cloudbursts were reported in Kullu and Kangra in the last 24 hours. Five bodies were recovered in Kangra. Five people are still missing. I believe that roads especially connecting the villages were damaged to a large extent. We have issued necessary guidelines and warnings throughout the state,” Sukhu added.
Police in Lahaul and Spiti received information that a group of 31 trekkers, who had set out from Hamta and were scheduled to reach Chhatru, had not arrived at their destination within the expected time on Wednesday, were later located. “Considering the seriousness of the situation, a rescue team was immediately dispatched from Koksar. All 31 were safely located,” he said.
