Five of family killed, three injured as landslide hits two houses in Nirmand

Five members of a family were killed while three others sustained injuries when a landslide destroyed two houses at Sharmani village in Ghatu panchayat of Nirmand in Kullu district. The landslide struck the two houses around 1.30 am, burying the homes of eight residents under a huge amount of debris and mud.

The deceased have been identified as Bresti Devi (50), Chunni Lal (32), Anju Devi (25), Bhupesh (5) and Jagriti (8). The injured persons are Shivram (52), Dharam Das (48) and Kala Devi (45) and they are admitted to a hospital at Nirmand subdivision.

The landslide led to panic among the villagers, who scrambled for assistance in rescue efforts.

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), local police and district administration swiftly launched the relief and rescue operations. Ghatu panchayat president Bhogram, who was alerted around 2 am, rushed to the landslide site and found villagers trapped under rubble.

He immediately notified the district authorities and rescue efforts commenced with the help of locals.

Nirmand SDM Manmohan Singh said that the injured had been admitted to a hospital. He assured the affected families of all possible support.

As a precautionary measure, three nearby houses deemed vulnerable were evacuated and residents were advised to relocate to safer areas due to the heightened risk of more landslides.

At least 24 people have died in rain-related incidents in Kullu alone this year. Rescue teams are on alert and emergency teams have been deployed in the district to manage the crisis and prevent further loss of life.

CM condoles deaths in Kullu cloudburst

• Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday expressed grief over the loss of five lives in a cloudburst at Sharmani village in Ghatu gram panchayat of Kullu on Monday night
• He said that the relief and rescue work was being carried out on a war-footing