NEW DELHI, Aug 13 (KUNA) -- Following a massive landslide in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh in northern India, 27 persons were killed and many more people are missing.
Quoting a government official, the Press Trust of India said that 27 dead bodies were recovered and five people were rescued after a huge rescue operation since last night.
He said that there is a possibility that the death toll would go up as the rescue team is still continuing their search for many trapped inside the mud.
The tragedy took place around 12.20 AM near Kotpori village in Jogindernagar on the Mandi-Pathankot highway located some 220 km away from Shimla, the famous tourist destination.
Two government transport buses heading to Chamba from Manali in Himachal Pradesh and Katra in Jammu and Kashmir were washed away in the incident as the buses stopped there for refreshments.
Dead bodies of nine passengers traveling in one of these buses which carried 47 passengers were retrieved while three dead bodies were recovered from the other bus.
The remaining dead are from the local residents. The villagers said that they escaped running from their houses when they sensed that the tragedy was to befall as some boulders started rolling down ahead of the disaster. (end) atk.mt