5 missing in HP cloudburst

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 10

Five persons, including four tourists from Punjab and a Nepalese guide, were reportedly washed away as a cloudburst triggered flash flood in the Loti Nullah (a tributary of the Sutlej that flows into Kol Dam) and Mongri.

A Scorpio with eight persons on board was washed away in the Loti Nullah waters near Chaba. 

Three of them had a miraculous escape, while five could not be traced. The incident occurred on the Sunni-Luhri road, 60 km from here.

Sources said the cloudburst occurred over the Ganvi hills and the floodwater headed towards Loti Nullah and Mongri. 

The tourists had reportedly gone there for river rafting, said DD Sharma, Special Secretary, Disaster Management. They belonged to Nawanshahr in Punjab, said sources. 

The survivors —Sukhbir Singh, Fateh Singh and Kamaljit Singh — were admitted to the Community Health Centre at Sunni, while search for the missing five was on. Those yet to be traced are Saranpreet Singh, Harpreet Singh, Abanjot Singh, Amana and guide Titu. An alert has been sounded in the Kol Dam area.

Meanwhile, heavy rainfall was reported in several parts of the state, triggering landslides in the interior areas of Shimla, Kangra, Solan, Kullu and Mandi districts. Dharamsala recorded 35.4 mm rainfall, Solan 26 mm, Shimla 23 mm, Chail 18 mm, Sundernagar 15.4 mm, Kangra 15 mm, Una 13 mm and Bilaspur 6.

Thunderstorm and hailstorm warning has been issued for the mid-hills.