At least two people died and 20 others were feared swept away as cloudburst, flash floods and heavy rain wreaked havoc in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday. Bodies of two people were recovered from the Manuni Khad in Kangra district while around 15-20 workers stationed at a labour colony near the Indira Priyadarshini Hydroelectric project site were feared swept away following a surge in water level in the Khaniyara Manuni Khad.
Project work suspended due to rain
Giving details, officials said the project work had been suspended due to rain, and the workers were resting in the temporary shelters near the site when floodwaters from Manuni Khad and nearby drains diverted towards the labour colony, sweeping the workers away.
Teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), local administration, gram panchayat, and the revenue department have reached the spot to carry out search and rescue operations.
However, some of the local workers associated with the project have been reported safe, the officials said.
20 workers swept away, says BJP MLA
In a post on social media, Dharamsala's BJP MLA Sudhir Sharma said that about 20 workers were swept away in the incident.
More details are awaited as rescue operations continue amid challenging weather conditions
Meanwhile, three people went missing as cloudbursts led to flash floods in several parts of Kullu district, damaging many houses, a school building, shops, connecting roads and small bridges, officials said.
Three cloudbursts incidents reported in Himachal
The development comes as three cloudbursts incidents were reported from Jeeva Nallah and Rehla Bihal in Sainj and Shilagarh in Gadsa area of Kullu district.
Three people in Rehla Bihal trying to take away their valuables from their homes were washed away in the deluge and are missing, the officials said.
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