Dharamsala: Landslide toll 8; toddler among three more dead

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, July 14

The landslide toll today rose to eight with the recovery of three more bodies, including that of a toddler, from Rulehar village in the Boh valley, Dharamsala. Two persons are still feared trapped in the debris even as the rescue operation continues. The dead have been identified as Bhim Sen, Kanchana Devi and one-and-a-half-year-old Shabnam. The entire family of Bhim Sen has been wiped out in the landslide. The bodies of his wife, two daughters and a son were recovered yesterday.

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Kangra Deputy Commissioner Nipun Jindal said the district administration had made arrangements for the cremation of the deceased. The injured were being provided free medical aid. One of the injured was undergoing treatment in the PGI, Chandigarh.

Jindal said a 55-year-old man from Samirpur village near Kangra was washed away in the flash flood on July 12. “He is still missing and efforts are being made to locate him. All tourists trapped in the Kareri area have been rescued,” he added. Meanwhile, sources said there was tension between the slum dwellers and locals housed in the Bagli government school after the flash flood. The locals objected to staying with slum dwellers in the school complex.

Body of Punjab singer, who fell into gorge, found

Sufi singer Manmeet Singh of Amritsar died after he fell into a gorge near the Kareri lake, 10 km from Dharamsala, on July 12. His body was retrieved on Tuesday night.