5 feared washed away in flash floods in Shimla remain

A massive search operation mounted to trace five persons who were washed away in flash floods caused by a cloud burst in Lot Nalla near Chaba was resumed today but without any success.
Five persons, including four tourists from Punjab and a guide, were yesterday feared to have been washed away along with the Bolero vehicle.
Rescue teams comprising policemen, home guards, fire department personnel located the debris of the vehicle today but could not find any of the missing persons, SDM (rural), Shimla, G C Negi said.
The chances of their survival are very slim. The bodies are feared trapped under the debris, 15-20 feet in Loti Nallah. The nallah is a few metres away from Sutlej and the bodies could be easily located if they flow into the river, he said.

About a 12 km-long stretch of Sunni-Luhri road was badly damage in the flash floods that triggered over a dozen landslides, which affected Chhetri village the most, the SDM, who visited the incident spot to take stock of the situation, said.
He announced solatium of Rs 20,000 and Rs 10,000, respectively, to those whose houses or cowsheds were washed away.

State Youth Congress chief and the son of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, Vikramaditya Singh, met the relatives of missing persons, who urged him to step up the rescue efforts.
He said authorities concerned would ensure that relief is provided to the affected.

Heavy rains lashed parts of Himachal Pradesh since yesterday with Jogindernagar and Dharamsala recording 176 mm and 167mm of rainfall.
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Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said all efforts are being made to trace the missing persons and added that occurrence of cloud bursts was a routine feature in hills.
"A team of 7th Battalion of NDRF from Bhatinda has been called for search operations and it would reach the affected area near Sunni tomorrow," Deputy Commissioner, Shimla Rohan C Thakur, said.
"Relief and rescue operations are in full swing, power supply has been restored and the landslide ridden Sunni-Luhri road would be opened for small vehicles tomorrow. Damaged water supply schemes are being repaired and relief has been distributed to affected persons," he added.