Search and rescue efforts resumed on Friday morning in Himachal Pradesh as joint teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police, and home guards continued the operation to locate six people missing after cloudbursts and flash floods struck the Kangra and Kullu districts on Wednesday.
Officials said five bodies have been recovered so far from the site of a hydroelectric project in Kangra that was severely impacted by the flash floods. The search is still on for three individuals in Kangra and three more who went missing after a cloudburst in Rehla Bihal, Kullu.
One of the survivors, a woman named Lovely from Chamba district, was rescued from a forest area near the project site. She told rescue teams that there were 13 people in the camp at the time of the flood. Five of them managed to run toward the hills, while the others were swept away by the powerful current.
“We saw the floodwaters approaching and screamed to warn those below before running for our lives,” said Daya Kishan, a laborer who escaped the flash floods. At the time of the incident, construction work at the project had been suspended due to heavy rain. Workers were resting in temporary shelters when sudden floodwaters from the Manuni Khad and nearby drains changed course and rushed through the area, dragging several workers along.
NDRF Commandant Baljinder Singh confirmed that their teams are continuing efforts to trace those missing near the project site.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA from Dharamshala, Sudhir Sharma, has raised concerns over alleged negligence. He claimed that shelters were built dangerously close to a stream and accused the authorities of failing to relocate workers to safer areas despite clear signs of worsening weather. He has demanded a probe into the matter.
