Cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh: Rescue operation under way to trace 45 missing people

Flash floods in Himachal Pradesh leave 45 missing, 29 rescued, and 73 dead, with extensive damage and ongoing rescue operations.

“Rescue operations were under way on August 2 to trace more than 45 people missing following flash floods triggered by cloudbursts in three districts of Himachal Pradesh, while 29 people stranded at the site of a power project in the State were brought to safety overnight,” officials said.

Cloudbursts in Nirmand, Sainj and Malana areas in Kullu, Padhar in Mandi and Rampur in Shimla districts on July 31 had left five people dead and more than 45 missing. Thirty-three people were also stuck in Malana II power project in Manikaran area of Kullu district.

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Deputy Commissioner Kullu, Torul S Raveesh, said 29 out of the 33 have been rescued. A wall and way to a tunnel was damaged due to rains and water entered the barrage but the teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and home guard managed to rescue 29 people, while four persons are still in the power house.

“The relatives of the missing people are campaigning at the spot and the Army, NDRF, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, State Disaster Response Force, police and home guards are involved in the rescue operations and the help of drones is being taken to locate the missing persons,” officials added.

The maximum damage was caused in Samej area of Rampur subdivision of Shimla district as a cloudburst near Shrikhand Mahadev on Wednesday night triggered flash floods in Sarpara, Ganvi and Kurban nallahs.

“As a result, the water in Samej Khud in Shimla district’s Rampur rose, leaving two people dead and about 30 missing,” Shimla Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi had told PTI.