Shimla: At least five people were killed and many feared trapped when two buses carrying more than 40 passengers were buried underneath a massive landslide in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district on Sunday.
Rescue operations were underway at the site in Kotrupi on the Mandi-Pathankot highway, but the death toll was feared to go up.
The landslide, wherein an entire side of the hill came crashing down, was triggered by incessant rainfall and loose rocks.
One of the two buses was buried under tons of rock and mud, while the other was swept 800 metres off the road. The two buses were enroute Manal Katra and Mani Manali.
A 250-metre stretch of the road was destroyed in the landslide and other vehicle too were feared trapped in the rubble.
The National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) was rushed to the spot and together with Army rescue teams and civilian groups, the rescuers were trying to make their way through the rubble.
While five bodies were pulled out by rescuers, six injured passengers were been shifted to a hospital in Padhar town nearby.
The traffic on Mandi-Pathankot Highway (NH-154) was diverted to new routes —Ghatasi-Jhadigri-Katindi-Mandi, Jogindernagar-Nauni-Padhar and Jogindernagar-Dharampur-Potli-Mandi.
Angry locals criticised the state leaders, including the health minister, for not reaching the landslide site to oversee operations. State transport minister GS Bali said additional forces were on their way to Kotrupi to aid relief and rescue.
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