Himachal Landslide: Over 100 Officials Continue Rescue Ops 72 Hrs After Tragedy, 13 Bodies Recovered

Himachal Rains: Over 100 officials are engaged in rescue operations in Shimla's Summer Hill after a massive landslide hit the area on August 14.

Police, district administration and locals carry out rescue operation after collapse of a temple following a massive landslide near Summer Hill in Shimla

Source : PTI

Himachal Rains:  Over 100 officials of the National Disaster Response Force, Indian Army, State Disaster Response Force and police remain engaged in the rescue operations three days after a massive landslide hit Shimla's Summer Hill area in Himachal Pradesh. So far 13 bodies have been recovered out of the 21 people who were missing. NDRF Inspector Naseef Khan said, "The rescue and search operation is underway for 4 days. Indian Army, SDRF and Police are engaged in rescue operations here. Out of the 21 people missing, 13 bodies have been recovered so far."

Speaking to news agency ANI, BS Rajput, Second in Command, 14 NDRF said, "It has been more than 72 hours since the rescue operations started. We are using our special equipment to carry out rescue operations. A total of 120 personnel from NDRF, SDRF, Indian Army, Local Police and others are here at the spot. It is expected that more bodies will be recovered soon."

Shimla SP, Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi said, "We are further planning the line of action. We have to make deep efforts in our rescue and retrieval operations because the impact is so massive. We will try to retrieve the remaining bodies by today evening. Coordinated efforts are being made in this direction. According to the missing report we are suspecting around seven more people to be stuck here."

Speaking about the rain disaster in the state, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said it will take a year to rebuild the infrastructure wrecked by the heavy rains this monsoon but the state is up to the “mountain-like challenge”. 

In an interview with PTI, he said the estimated damage in the two devastating spells of heavy rain – this week and in July – is about Rs 10,000 crore. Rains this week triggered landslides across the state, blocking roads and bringing down houses. The chief minister said it takes time to rebuild roads and water projects. But the government is speeding up the process. 

“We have to get the infrastructure fully restored within a year. I am working with this in mind. It’s a big challenge, a mountain-like challenge. But we are not going to back away,” he said.