The toll from Wednesday’s landslide in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district rose to 16 after three more bodies were recovered on Friday, ANI reported.
The rescue officials recovered the bodies near the wreckage of a bus that was hit by the landslide on Wednesday afternoon, according to the Hindustan Times. The Himachal Road Transport Corporation bus had been on its way from Reckong Peo in Kinnaur to Shimla when the landslide took place.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said on Friday evening that the rescue operation was still underway. “It’s likely that 1 or 2 more bodies will be recovered,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Himanshu Misra, the Inspector General of Police (South Range) of Himachal Pradesh, said that 13 people have been injured in the landslide.
Kinnaur Superintendent of Police Sarju Ram Rana told the Hindustan Times that two excavators had been deployed to dig for the wreckage of the bus.
He said that while a manual search will continue, search and rescue teams have also deployed two fork-line machines to clear the rubble in hope of finding people who might be trapped underneath.
On Thursday, Thakur and Transport Minister Bikram Thakur met those injured in the landslide.
Thakur announced compensation of Rs 4 lakh for the families of the deceased, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs 2 lakh. Himachal Pradesh’s transport department will also give them Rs 1 lakh.
The Himachal Pradesh government will give Rs 50,000 to the critically injured and bear treatment expenses of those who had sustained minor injuries.
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