Shimla / Manali: Nine tourists were killed, and the other two were injured on Sunday afternoon after large stones, were released by massive landslides, falling in their vehicles near the Bastera Village in Kinnaur District in Himachal Pradesh.
A pedestrian was also injured in another landslide in Kinnaur District.
The tourists and van drivers of tourists from Chitkul, are considered the villages inhabited last near the border with China in Kinnaur, to Sangla, when landslides hit Jalan Sangla-Chitkul.
Landslide sites in Kinnaur, where large stones broke the bridge, was arrested on a rock and large stones fell on the road and caused the collapse of the bridge over the Bapsa River which connected the village of Batseri with the rest of Kinnaur.
A family of three of the Sikar District Rajasthan – Maya Devi Biyani (55), his son Anurag Biyani (31) and Putri Richa Biyani (25) – were among those who were killed in an accident.
The remaining six people killed were identified as Pratiksha Sunil Patil (27) from Nagpur in Maharashtra; Deepa Sharma (34) from Jaipur; Amogh Bapat (27) and Satish Katakbar (34) from Chhattisgarh; The driver of the Umrab Singh (42) vehicle from Tagore Garden in Delhi and Kumar Ulhas Vedpathak (37).
Injuries including Shirril Obroy (39) from West Delhi; Naveen Bhardwaj (37) from Kharar in Mohali and Ranjeet Singh (45), a local from the village of Batseri in Sangla.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences for death and announced EX Gratia from RS 2 Lakh each to the next relatives of those who were killed in an accident and Rs 50,000 as financial assistance for injured.
Holling death, Minister of Man Jai Ram Thakur said the required instructions had been issued for Kinnaur’s government to provide all the assistance for those affected by the incident.
Kinnaur Mla Jagat Singh Negi said the Big Boulders had fallen in the same place, where the bridge was broken, on Saturday and had damaged the car.
A cloudburst at Lara Nullah spitis blocked the Sumdo-Kaza highway at 1 morning on Sunday, breaking the High Valley Link height with Shimla and Kinnaur.
Reaching the top of SPII experienced relentless rain from midnight Saturday which triggered a flash flood and brought tons of debris along with it and blocked the highway.
Dozens of stranded vehicles on both sides of Lara Nullah for almost 12 hours.
The Border Road Organization (Bro) was returned only on Sunday afternoon.
SPIAN HR Mahender Pratap Singh said, “There were no victims reported.”