Kinnaur landslide toll rises to 13, wreckage of bus spotted
Teams of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the National Disaster Response Force are engaged in search and rescue operations at the landslide site.
The death toll in the Kinnaur landslide rose to 13 on Thursday morning after rescue personnel pulled out a body from the remnants of the bus that bore the direct impact of the landslide at the Reckong Peo-Shimla highway in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.
Teams of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the National Disaster Response Force are engaged in search and rescue operations at the landslide site.
Till late Wednesday, 14 people had been rescued from the rubble and shifted to various hospitals for treatment.
Around 20-25 people, mostly passengers of the ill-fated Himachal Pradesh road transport department bus, are still unaccounted for.
According to reports, eight of the deceased were travelling in a Mahindra Bolero.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi mourned the loss of lives. "My heartfelt condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the Kinnaur landslide. I hope that the rescue operations can save more lives. Requesting the state government and local Congress workers to provide all possible assistance to the families involved in the tragedy."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Wednesday spoken to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur and assured the latter of every possible assistance to deal with the situation.