Man killed in Chamba landslide

A man was killed after being hit by a landslide in Sarol panchayat on the outskirts of Chamba town late on Tuesday. The deceased has been identified as Vinay Kumar, a resident of Khalli village.

The incident occurred while victim was returning home. Just 10 minutes before the tragedy, he had phoned his family, informing them that frequent landslides were taking place on the route but assured them of his safety. Moments later, his phone switched off, leaving his family anxious. Despite searching throughout the night, they found no trace of him.

Early morning on Wednesday, local residents along with a fire brigade team launched a search and recovered Vinay Kumar’s body buried under debris. Sarol Panchayat’s Up-Pradhan Dheeraj Naryal confirmed the incident and expressed concern that continuous heavy rainfall has increased the frequency of landslides, posing a growing threat to locals.

Meanwhile, in another incident, a major mishap was narrowly averted on the Hundsar-Kugti road in Bharmour subdivision on Wednesday morning. A sudden landslide occurred near a rivulet, causing a vehicle parked by Manimahesh pilgrims on the roadside to plunge into a stream.

The incident triggered panic in the area before police and administration teams rushed to the spot to assess the situation. No one was in the vehicle when the landslide struck, thus averting a major mishap.

Bharmour ADM Kulbir Singh Rana confirmed that the vehicle had fallen into the rivulet due to the landslide, though no casualties were reported. He stressed that pilgrim safety during the Manimahesh Yatra remains the administration’s top priority.

Devotees have been urged to exercise extreme caution when parking vehicles and to avoid leaving them in vulnerable zones. He said adequate security measures have been put in place and administration was keeping a continuous vigil in disaster prone areas.