11 passengers of Punjab Roadways bus still missing; 3 bodies recovered

Shimla : The bodies of three people who were swept away along with their roadside eatery in a flash flood were recovered from the Pabbar river in Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh on Sunday, police said.

They said, however, 11 passengers of a Punjab state transport corporation bus, which was swept away in Manali on July 10, were yet to be traced.

“We have got a list of 11 missing persons, all hailing from Uttar Pradesh, who were suspected to be in the bus when it was swept away and a search is on to find the missing persons,” Kullu Superintendent of Police Sakshi Verma told PTI.

Several videos of the bus, trucks and light vehicles inundated in Beas river, floods washing away houses, business establishments and parking lots on the banks went viral following floods in Kullu and Mandi districts.

On the recovery of three bodies, the police said the trio – an elderly couple and their grandson—were swept away along with their dhaba in a flash flood in Laila rivulet at a village in Rohru in Shimla district on Saturday.

Roshan Lal and his wife Bhaga Devi used to run a dhaba in the village and their grandson Kartik had paid them a visit when the tragedy struck, the officials said.

So far, 25 persons have died, 26 sustained injuries and four are still missing in Shimla district and about 88 houses, 47 vehicles and eight animal sheds have been damaged in the current monsoon season, Gandhi said.

The local Met office on Sunday issued orange warning of heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places on July 25 and 26 and yellow warning of heavy rains on July 24 and 27.

Light to moderate rain lashed parts of Himachal Pradesh. Nahan received 46 mm of rain, followed by Jatton Barrage (Sirmaur) 45 mm, Bharmour 35 mm, Solan 34 mm and Guler 32 mm.

The state has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 5,115 crore.

Nearly 700 roads are closed for vehicular traffic in the state.