SHIMLA/DHARAMSHALA, June 26: With the recovery of two more bodies from a hydro project site in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district that was hit by flash floods on Wednesday, the death toll has risen to four, officials said on Thursday.
Two bodies were recovered on Wednesday, while two more bodies were traced on Thursday, Additional Deputy Magistrate Kangra Shilpa Bekta said.
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The deceased have been identified as Chain Singh, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir, Aditya Thakur from Chamba, and Pardeep Verma and Chandan from Uttar Pradesh, Kangra SP Shalini Agnihotri said on Thursday.
Search operations have been intensified to find the seven persons still missing since flash floods triggered by cloudbursts hit Kangra and Kullu districts on Wednesday.
Lovely from Chamba district, whom the search teams rescued from a forest near the project site, said there were 13 people in the camp, of which five ran towards the hills while the remaining were swept by the gushing waters.
“We saw the floods coming and screamed to alert the people below before running to safety, ” Daya Kishan, a labourer, said.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Commandant Baljinder Singh said they are trying to trace the people who are feared to have been swept away from the project site during the floods.
Three more people are yet to be traced at Rehla Bihal in Kullu district.
Two persons were confirmed dead, while about 15-20 workers were feared swept away at the makeshift labour colony near the Indira Priyadarshini Hydroelectric project site following a surge in the water level at Manuni Khad in Khaniyara village on Wednesday evening.
While some of the missing persons have been rescued, the authorities did not clarify the exact number of people saved.
NDRF’s Singh said that joint search teams of NDRF, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police, and Home Guards are on the job, though the tough topography and bad weather have made the search operation difficult.
Another person who was last known to have fled to a nearby hill to save himself during the floods has been found, officials said.
Some of the missing persons were from Nurpur and Chamba areas of Himachal Pradesh, while the others were from Uttar Pradesh, they said.
Expressing condolences to the bereaved families of the workers, BJP president J P Nadda said, “In this hour of crisis, every BJP worker is dedicated to providing all possible help to the citizens of Devbhoomi. I pray to God to give peace to the departed souls and provide strength to the bereaved families.” (PTI)
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