Cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh causes flash floods, 10 missing, 1 injured

File photo

New Delhi: A cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh's tribal district of Lahaul-Spiti on Tuesday resulted in flash floods, around 10 people are reportedly missing while one person has been injured.

The incident took place at Udaipur in Lahaul at around 8 PM on Tuesday, state disaster management director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta told PTI. Two tents of labourers and a private JCB have been washed away. Around 10 people are reported missing.

A 19-year-old labourer, Mohammad Altaaf, has been injured. The resident of Jammu and Kashmir, has been referred to a nearby hospital.

A search operation in underway comprising state police and ITBP teams but a heavy flow of water on Tuesday night hampered the search operations. The search operation will resume on Wednesday, the senior disaster management official said.

Due to heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh the water level in the Bhaga river has risen considerably. People from Lahaul-Spiti's Darcha village have been evacuated, Himachal Pradesh Disaster Management Director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta told PTI on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, in Kinnaur over 60 tourists have reportedly been stranded after multiple landslides hit the state blocking roads. As many as nine tourists were killed on Sunday after heavy boulders fell on their tempo traveller near Basteri in Kinnaur.

Multiple landslides triggered by rains took place near Basteri on the Sangla-Chitkul road, resulting in the collapse of a bridge and damage to some vehicles.