A devastating landslide in the rain-battered hills of Himachal Pradesh has claimed 15 lives, leaving behind a trail of sorrow and shattered families. The natural calamity struck a private bus on a mountainous road, swallowing it under tons of earth and debris on Sunday evening.
Among the deceased were 9 men, 4 women, and 2 children, according to Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri. Two more children sustained injuries, while one child remains missing as search and rescue operations continue.
“In this horrific mishap, 15 people lost their lives… and the search for one continues,” Agnihotri said in a post on X (formerly Twitter), expressing grief over the loss.
Rescue visuals aired by ANI show the twisted frame of the bus lying crushed amid rubble, as National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams and local emergency workers dig through debris. Some responders used heavy machinery to clear massive mounds of mud and rock, while others carefully picked through passengers’ soaked belongings—small reminders of lives interrupted in a flash.
Assistant Commandant Karam Singh of the NDRF confirmed that 18 people were trapped in the landslide. Senior police officer Sandeep Dhawal cited relentless rainfall over the past two days as the trigger behind this tragic collapse.
The region is no stranger to such disasters during monsoon season, but this year’s extreme weather has brought catastrophic destruction. In West Bengal’s Darjeeling district, at least 23 people have died, and across the border in Nepal, over 50 lives have been lost due to similar floods and landslides.
