Watch: Bus swept away in Beas river, floats like a toy

Dramatic footage shows a bus floating like a toy in Beas River.

MANALI: Dramatic visuals of a bus being swept away by raging Beas River in Himachal Pradesh has emerged.

In the footage, a parked bus is seen floating like a toy in the river, before disappearing from sight completely.

The incident took place in Manali on Sunday. No reports of loss of life or injuries emerged.

The water level of Beas River rose abnormally in several places including Mandi and Hamirpur districts. All the major rivers and their tributaries in the state is witnessing flood-like situation. 

Manali received 127.4 mm of rainfall in the state in 24 hours, said the Meteorological Department.

The highway connecting Manali with Leh in Jammu and Kashmir has also been closed for traffic owing to heavy snow.

"The traffic between Manali and Leh has been closed since Saturday," an official of the 38 Task Force of the General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF) told IANS.

Several parts of Himachal Pradesh witnessed landslides following heavy rainfall and flash floods in the region. Rescue operations to evacuate people were stuck in remote locations were on.

“We are trying to evacuate and rehabilitate people. I request people not to go to high reach areas and near rivers,” Kullu Deputy Commissioner Yunus Khan said. An official of the Himachal Road Transport Corporation said it would take a week to restart bus services between Manali via Keylong and Leh.

Meanwhile, the 13,050 feet high Rohtang Pass, the main tourist attraction and located 52 km from here, was closed.

Locals and tourists have been advised not to travel towards the higher reaches as chances of snow and rain are high till September 25, a government spokesperson.

Officials said state transport buses between Manali and Kaza have been temporarily suspended.

With agency inputs