Landslide buries several vehicles in Shimla suburb

SHIMLA: Eight vehicles were buried while three houses and a temple were damaged in a massive landslide triggered by heavy rains near Dhalli area in the suburbs of Shimla today, officials said.

No loss of life was reported in the incident, they said adding that fifteen families were shifted to safer places as several houses on a hill top were endangered.

Due to the landslide, the Dhalli-Shoghi road was blocked and hundreds of trucks loaded with apples and headed to the Bhattakufar Subzi Mandi, 3 Km from the spot, were stranded.

Videos of the incident, which showed a heap of rubble falling on the road, brushing away some vehicles while trapping others under the debris, went viral.

Heavy machinery has been deployed to remove the debris and clear the road, Shimla Deputy Commissioner Rohan Chand Thakur said adding that there was no loss of life.

Heavy rains triggered landslides in some interior areas also but there was no major disruption and most roads functioned.

Meanwhile heavy rains occurred at some places of Himachal Pradesh. Paonta Sahib and Nahan received 137 mm 127 mm rains, followed by Naina Devi 118mm, Jhandutta 85mm, Kheri 58mm, Mehre 51mm, Berthin 49mm, Kahu 39mm, Pachhad 38mm, Solan 37mm, Dalhousie and Shimla 33mm Jubbar Hatti and Una 24mm, Kufri and Ghumarwin which had 20mm of rain.

The local MeT office has predicted a wet spell in the region for next six days.

There was no significant change in maximum temperatures but minimum temperatures dropped marginally. Manali was coldest in the region with a minimum of 11 degrees Celsius, followed by Keylong 11.3 degrees, Kalpa 11.8 degrees, Shimla 15.1 degrees, Mandi 16.4 degrees, Dharamshala and Nahan 16.8 degrees, Palampur 18 degrees, Bhuntar 18.4 degrees, Solan 19 degrees, Kangra 20.4 degrees, Sundernagar 21.1 degrees and Una 22.2 degree Celsius.