13 killed in Himachal boulder tragedy
Thirteen people, including a six-month-old infant, were killed while two others had a narrow escape after massive boulders from a nearby hill suddenly fell on a moving taxi on the Udaipur-Pangi Road in Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul and Spiti on Friday.
Fifteen people were in the SUV, which was on its way from Kullu to Killar when large boulders suddenly crashed onto the vehicle near Kadu nallah, completely crushing it. Following the impact, the rear section of the vehicle caught fire.
Bystanders and Army personnel attempted to extinguish the flames at the spot, about 70 km from district headquarters Keylong. Videos of the incident have also surfaced, showing the vehicle almost flattened and engulfed in fire.
A team was dispatched to the site immediately after the police received information about the accident. Relief and rescue operations are underway, and the administration is closely monitoring the situation, police said.
Apart from the infant, there were seven men and four women among the dead. One of the deceased was yet to be identified. The majority of them were from Pangi in Chamba district, police said.
The deceased were identified as Bir Singh, Sanjay Kumar, Hans Raj, Budhi Singh, Bir Singh, Anil Kumar, Saurabh Singh, Anjana, Soman Angmo, Rekha, Kamla Kumari and six-month-old infant Aaru. Two people who jumped out of the car had a narrow escape.
There is no telecom signal at the accident spot, which is located at the border of Pangi (in Chamba district) and Lahaul (Lahaul and Spiti district). The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and the administration in Udaipur in Lahaul-Spiti are the primary response teams at the site, officials said. Police were also part of the operation.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu directed the deputy commissioner of Lahaul-Spiti to immediately go to the incident site and supervise the rescue and relief operations.
According to the preliminary information, the passengers had been stranded at Tindi as the Udaipur-Killar Road was closed the previous day. They set off for Pangi on Friday after the road reopened.
