Himachal flash flood, landslide: 4 killed, 14 feared dead in HPs Mandi district

At least four people died and fourteen have been feared dead after flash floods triggered by heavy overnight rainfall hit Himachal Pradesh on Saturday, officials said.

The calamity was reported at several places in Mandi district, in which 15 people went missing. The other calamity-affected districts were Chamba, Kangra, Hamirpur, Shimla, and Sirmaur.

In another incident reported from Shegli village in Mandi, six members of a family got washed away along with their house.

A flash flood also occurred at Kashang village in Gohar subdivision, in which nine people were reportedly buried in landslide debris.

Mandi Deputy Commissioner Arindam Chaudhary told the media that rescue teams have been on the spot to locate those missing.

According to the State Emergency Response Support System bulletin, the flash floods were reported in Balh, Sadar, Thunag, Mandi, and Lamathach in the Mandi district.

Three people died after a landslide hit Banet village Chowari tehsil, burying a house in Chamba district.

State disaster management Director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta told the media that of the 22 people, 18 were evacuated safely in the Hamirpur district.

The 800-metre-long railway bridge over the Chakki river in Pathankot on the border of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh collapsed after a flash flood washed away a bridge pillar.

The narrow-gauge train service between Pathankot and Jogindernagar, commissioned by the British in 1928, was stopped last month after the bridge developed cracks.

Expressing his grief over the loss of lives and damage to property due to heavy rains across the state, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur ordered all district administrations to undertake relief and rescue operations.

"Relief and rescue operations are being carried out on a war-footing with the local administrations in the respective areas," he informed in a tweet.