Landslide caused by rains buries HP village, 52 dead

HIMACHAL CLOUDBURST: A cloudburst caused a landslide burying an entire village in Himachal Pradesh.

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New Delhi: More than 60 people are believed to have died in Himachal Pradesh after a cloudburst caused a landslide burying an entire village.

Huge boulders, 20 to 25-feet high, completely crushed houses in Dharla village. Rescue work is on in full swing, but only five or six bodies have been recovered so far.

Among the five dead were four women, including an IPH department worker.

Many of the victims were labourers working on construction of a hydroelectric power station in the area. Says the DSP of the area, Nehar Singh, "There used to be a village here. Now it's just a pile of rubble."

Meanwhile, the flood situation in Bihar worsened with nine more deaths reported on Thursday.

In Bihar, two persons, including a policeman posted at Pirhara outpost, drowned when a country boat carrying 12 people capsized in the flood waters near Jokihahi bridge at Bagras village in Begusarai district.

As many as 287 people have died in the recent flood wave in the state. The level of all major rivers, including Ganga, Kosi, Bagmati, Burhi Gandak and Adhwara, were rising following heavy rains in their catchments areas since Wednesday.

Heavy rains in eastern Uttar Pradesh since Wednesday have led to the rise in level in major rivers, including the Ganga and Ghagra. This season 179 deaths were reported in rain related incidents.

In Jammu and Kashmir, seven schoolchildren and three jawans were rescued by army personnel from swirling waters after their bus was caught in flash floods in Akhnoor border belt.