In total, 13 bodies have been found, according to the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), out of the 21 people who were reported missing after a significant landslide earlier this week in Shimla’s Summer Hill neighborhood.
NDRF Inspector Naseef Khan said, “The rescue and search operation has been underway for 4 days. The Army, SDRF and the police are engaged in the ongoing rescue operations here. Of the 21 people missing, 13 bodies have been recovered so far.”
Earlier a family lost members spanning three generations in the mishap in which a temple in the Summer Hill area of rain-battered Shimla district was washed away following a landslide triggered by Monday’s cloudburst.
According to officials, seven members of the family, including three children were inside the Shiv temple when it collapsed.
In the meantime, Western Air Command helicopters have completed more than 50 sorties over the past 48 hours, saving more than 780 people from flood-affected areas in Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh, according to Indian Air Force officials on Wednesday. The flood-stricken areas of Indora and Fatehpur in the Kangra district were also the subject of an aerial survey by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
He took stock of the ongoing evacuation efforts in the flooded downstream of Pong Reservoir and other relief works. Interacting with people in relief camps at Damtal and Shekhpura, the CM enquired about their well-being while assuring them of all possible assistance from the government.
The state government on Wednesday said that at least 71 people have been killed in the recent rain-related incidents.