CHANDIGARH: The death toll in Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur district rose to 16 after the body of a child was recovered on Wednesday morning from the debris of a massive landslide that buried a private bus on Tuesday evening, officials said. Rescue operations have been called off.
The bus, carrying 18 passengers, was crushed under a collapsing mountainside in the Bhalughat area, following two days of relentless rain that destabilised the hillside.
Superintendent of Police of Bilaspur, Sandeep Dhawal said, "A total of 16 bodies have been recovered and two children rescued. Rescue teams have thoroughly searched the accident site and also broken a hanging part of the debris to look for any trapped people. Rescue operations have concluded after no trace of any trapped person was found, as the police have no information about any missing person.’’
Two National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, along with police, fire personnel, home guards, and local volunteers were part of the rescue operation. Dog squads were also deployed to assist in locating the missing, while heavy machinery was used to shift large boulders.
The victims include four members of a family who were returning from a function: two women and two children. Two surviving children, Arushi and Shaurya, were rescued and treated at AIIMS Bilaspur before being sent home.
"My wife and two children, and my brother's wife and their two children, were returning home from a function when the tragedy struck. Only my children are alive now," said Raj Kumar, father of Arushi and Shaurya.
The bodies of the deceased were handed over to their family members, and an amount of Rs 25,000 has been provided to the families of each deceased as immediate relief.
A child whose body was found on Wednesday morning was identified as Rahul (7). The 15 victims whose bodies were recovered on Tuesday were identified as Naksh (7), Aarav (4), Sanjeev (35), Vimla (35), Kamlesh (36), Kanta Devi (51), Anjana (29), Bakshi Ram (42), Narender Sharma (52), Krishan Lal (30), Chuni Lal (52), Rajnish (36), Rajeev alias Sonu (40), Sharif Khan (25) and Praveen Kumar (40).
The incident took place on Tuesday evening when a huge portion of a mountain gave way and fell on the moving bus in the Bhalughat area near Berthin.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the bus carrying 18 passengers was buried after a massive landslide in Bilaspur district yesterday. "With the recovery of one more body on Wednesday, the death toll increased to 16 while two children were rescued," he said.
Sukhu said that as soon as the information was received, the government launched rescue operations. "It was a very unfortunate incident. The government has announced relief of Rs 4 lakh to the bereaved families," he added.
"Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, who was in Kullu for Dussehra, festival, immediately rushed to the spot, while Urban Development Minister Rajesh Dharmani who was in Delhi for a meeting also returned to Bilaspur," Sukhu said.
Attributing the landslide to excessive rains during the monsoon, he said, "We are experiencing snowfall in high hills and excessive rains in other areas ... such incidents normally don't occur in October. These are manifestations of climate change. The state has suffered a loss of Rs 7,000 crore during this monsoon, while the relief package of Rs 1,500 crore announced by the prime minister has not been received."
He also cautioned commuters to drive carefully on narrow roads as landslides have become a natural phenomenon.
Dy CM Agnihotri, who took stock of the rescue operations at the accident site and also met the victims' families on Tuesday night, said that the region had been witnessing rain for the past two days. "It seems that the accident took place due to the sliding of the mountain following heavy downpour. A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident," he said.
He added, "Himachal is a hilly state where construction of big roads, bridges and tunnels is taking place. So, there is a need to review whether the present development model is sustainable," adding that the state suffered losses of about Rs 20,000 crore due to different natural disasters since 2023.
