House collapses in HP's Sirmaur following cloudburst, two bodies recovered

So far, three houses have been reported damaged.

Rescue teams on Thursday recovered the bodies of two out of five members of a family who were trapped under the debris of a house that collapsed after water gushed into a village in Sirmaur district following a cloudburst.

The cloudburst occurred in the Paonta Sahib area of the district on Wednesday night, officials said, adding that water entered several houses in Malagi Dadiyat village. So far, three houses have been reported damaged. One of these houses collapsed and five members of a family were feared trapped under its debris, the officials said on Thursday, adding that two bodies have been recovered.

The deceased were identified as Kuldeep (62) and Nitish (10). Paonta Sub-Divisional Magistrate Gunjit Singh Cheema said the search was underway for the three other members of the family. He said there was heavy sludge, continuously flowing water and heavy debris at the spot. The sludge flowing at a high speed carried the house more than 20 metres forward before it collapsed, the official added.

The State Emergency Operation Centre stated that heavy damage has been caused to properties in Malagi Dadiyat and the house of Kuldeep Singh totally collapsed. Those feared trapped include Kuldeep Singh’s wife Jeeto Devi, Rajni Devi and Deepika. The officials said some of the water got diverted towards the Dopaharia Khud which damaged properties and agriculture fields in the Puruwala village area.

Following the cloudburst, a section of the National Highway-707, which connects Paonta with Shallai, was blocked, making it difficult for authorities and police to reach Malagi Dadiyat village. The section between Rajban and Sataun was blocked and due to the cloudburst, the water level in the Giri River has also increased, the officials said.

The administration is trying to get personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to aid the operations, they added. So far, 234 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents in the state since the onset of the monsoon. Himachal Pradesh has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 6,742 crore, according to the emergency centre.

About 160 roads are still closed in the state. The local meteorological office has issued a yellow warning for heavy rains from Thursday to Sunday. It has predicted a wet spell in the region till August 15. It also cautioned of landslides, flash floods, mudslides and an increase in water flow in rivers and nullahs.