A huge rock fell on a hill in Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul-Spiti district on Friday, crushing a passenger car and killing 13 people inside, including a six-month-old baby, officials said.
The accident occurred on the Udaipur-Kilar road near Kadu Nala, about 60 km from Lahaul Valley. The victims, residents of Banji Valley, an isolated tribal area in Chamba District, were on their way from Kullu to Banji when the rocks started rolling. Officials said the car, a Tata Sumo, was crushed by a huge rock.
According to preliminary information, the passengers spent the night in Tindi after the Udaipur-Kilar road was closed on Thursday. They resumed their journey towards Bangui after the road was reopened on Friday morning, when the tragedy occurred near Kadu Nala.
Deputy Commissioner (Lahaul Spiti) Kiran Bhadana said that the car was buried under the rubble following a landslide and rockfall accident on the Sansari Nala-Kilar-Thirut-Tandi road on Friday. All 13 passengers in the car, including the driver, died in the accident.
Bhadana said that joint rescue operations involving the police, local administration and the Border Roads Organization began immediately to clear the landslide.
She added that the process of identifying the deceased is underway. She added that the region’s administration is closely monitoring the situation, and rescue and relief efforts are being continuously supervised.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu directed the Deputy Commissioner to immediately go to the accident site and supervise the rescue and relief operations. He also asked the district authorities to provide all possible assistance to the relatives of the deceased.
Amandeep Singh, Pangi sub-district magistrate, said rescue teams from Lahaul and Spiti police, along with local administration personnel, rushed to the spot immediately after receiving information about the incident.
Singh urged people to avoid traveling on landslide-prone roads amid the ongoing heavy rain spell and advised them to follow official advice before trekking in the mountainous region.
Lahaul Spiti MLA Anuradha Rana said that among the deceased were seven males, four females and an infant whose gender has not yet been determined. “The identity of the person has not yet been confirmed and a DNA test will be conducted on him,” Rana said.
