Two dead, ten missing after flash flood hits HP's Lahaul-Spiti district
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Shimla: Two people were killed while ten including four Border Roads Organisation (BRO) men have gone missing as flash floods triggered by incessant rains lashed Tozing Nullah in Udaipur sub-division of Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul Spiti district, a police official said on Wednesday.
Superintendent of Police Manav Verma told IANS over the phone that two bodies have been recovered. One is that of a Kashmiri labourer and the other remains unidentified. Rescue teams, comprising members of the BRO, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), were trying to locate those missing.
The missing people include four BRO men and two labourers of a telecom company. They were travelling towards Pangi-Killar in a vehicle which was swept away in the flash flood.
He said one of the injured was referred to a government hospital in Kullu town, while three people were rescued.
Reports say traffic on the Manali-Leh highway was also hampered owing to massive landslides. Several vehicles, including tourists, have been stuck on the highway.
The Mandi-Kullu-Manali national highway was also disconnected from Chandigarh due to landslides at several places ahead of Mandi town. Public transport and tourist vehicles were said to be stuck there.
Owing to heavy rains, the BRO has closed the Manali-Leh highway and the Manali-Udaipur highway. The tourists and locals have been prohibited to travel beyond Manali towards Leh via Keylong till further orders.
State disaster management director Sudesh Mokhta said a landslide near Kirting village of Lahaul sub-division had blocked state highway number 26. At least 50 vehicles are stranded in the area and efforts to restore traffic are on. Another landslide occurred on the highway at Hawai Mod near Kukumseri village.
The government has issued an advisory for tourists and locals to refrain from high mountains, wandering near rivers and other places vulnerable to landslides.
Earlier this week, nine tourists were killed when a massive landslide occurred on the Sangla-Bateseri road in Kinnaur district. They were travelling in a vehicle.