4 more bodies found in landslide-hit Kullu, total 8 dead; rescue op in Manimahesh over

Shimla, Sep 6 (PTI) Four more bodies were retrieved on Saturday from the rubble in landslide-hit Akhada Bazaar area of Kullu, sending the toll of deaths caused by the calamity to eight, an official said.

The rescue operation in Bharmaur-Manimahesh in Chamba district was concluded after the 64 remaining stranded pilgrims were airlifted, Chamba Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Repaswal said.

A landslide each on Tuesday and Thursday struck the Akhada Bazaar area, reducing many structures to rubble, Kullu Deputy Commissioner Kullu Torul S Ravish said. One person remains missing.

The four found dead on Saturday were identified as Narendra, a local, and Bakar Ahmed, Hussain Lon, and Tahir Din Ahmed Sheikh, all of them from Kashmir.

According to authorities, 17 people died on the pilgrimage route after being stranded for days.

Repaswal appealed to the general public to share details on helpline number 98166-98166 in case their family members are still missing.

Army helicopters flew rations, medicines, and other essential supplies to the remote region of Bara Bhangal in Kangra district and inaccessible villages in Kullu.

On Saturday, another massive landslide hit Choker village in the Noradhar area of Sirmour district, slicing a 200-metre area of a hill.

The landslide rendered five houses at risk of collapse, officials said.

Locals said the landslide could have been caused by the bursting of an underground water source. The families of endangered houses were shifted to safe places.

Videos of the landslide have gone viral on the internet.

Around 900 roads, including three national highways, were closed, 1,497 power transformers were disrupted, and 388 water supply schemes were damaged in the state, according to the state emergency operation centre.

A total of 227 roads, the maximum, were closed in the Kullu region, followed by 198 in Mandi, 167 in the Shimla region, and 116 in the Chamba region.

At least 366 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents, while 41 are missing since the monsoon began.

The state has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 4,079 crore this monsoon so far, according to official data.

The state has been struck by 135 major landslides, 95 flash floods, and 45 cloudbursts since the onset of monsoons on June 20.

The local Met Station has predicted moderate rain across the state over the next six days.

Nainadevi has received 136.8 mm of rain since Friday evening, followed by Berthin, 29.6 mm, Dhaulakuan, 25 mm, Sarahan, 20 mm, Kufri, 15.4 mm, and Rohru, 10 mm.

The state has received 943.2 mm of rain since June 1, against a normal of 648.1 mm – an excess of 46 per cent.

Mandi and Shimla districts received 116 per cent and 113 per cent of excess rain, followed by Bilaspur which received 79 per cent, Solan, 77 per cent, Una, 72 percent, Mandi 69 per cent, Hamirpur, 51 per cent, Sirmaur, 46 per cent, Kinnaur, 40 per cent, Chamba, 33 per cent, and Kangra 15 per cent.

The tribal Lahaul and Spiti district received eleven per cent deficit rain. PTI BPL VN VN

Disaster response: coordinated rescue and relief operations continue after widespread landslides, causing multiple fatalities and major infrastructure disruption. Monsoon-triggered landslides and flash floods caused multiple fatalities in Kullu and elsewhere, prompting air and ground rescue operations that evacuated stranded pilgrims and residents; authorities mobilised army helicopters to deliver relief supplies, closed major roads, shifted families from endangered houses, established helplines for missing persons, and reported extensive damage to power and water infrastructure alongside quantified seasonal rainfall deviations guiding continued emergency response.