The death toll in Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur district, where a private bus was buried under the debris of a massive landslide Tuesday evening, rose to 16 after rescuers found the body of a child Wednesday morning, officials said. The Himachal government said among the 16 people who died in the accident, there were three children and four women. The Bilaspur landslide took place around 6.40 pm Tuesday after a hilltop collapsed onto the moving private bus, carrying around 18 passengers, near Ballu Ghat in the Jhandutta tehsil. The bus was carrying around 18 passengers. The incessant rain triggered the landslide over the past two days in the region. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed deep grief over the Bilaspur landslide. "Sixteen people lost their lives in the tragic landslide in Bilaspur. Two children were rescued. The landslide occurred on a link road, apparently due to continuous rainfall for the last two days. The state has been experiencing extreme weather conditions,” Sukhu told reporters. Sukhu announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of each victim and praised the rescue teams for their prompt response. He said that Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri rushed to the site on Monday night after cutting short his visit to the International Kullu Dussehra festival. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex gratia relief of Rs 1 lakh from the PM National Relief Fund to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 to those injured. Miraculous rescue Among the deceased were four members of a family from Phagog village near Jhandutta: Anjana Devi, 29; her sons, Naksh, 7, and Aarav, 4; and her sister-in-law, Kamlesh Devi, 36. According to information, Anjana Devi, along with her children and sister-in-law, had come to her maternal home to attend a family function. They were all returning to their home in Phagog on the bus. According to the district administration, Sarif Khan, 25; Rajnish Kumar, 36; Chuni Lal, 52; Rajeev alias Sonu, 40; Bakshi Ram, 42; Narender Sharma, 52; Krishan Lal, 30; Praveen Kumar, 40; Kanta Devi, 51; Vimla Devi, 35;, Sanjeev Kumar, 35, and Rahul, 7, were also killed in the landslide along with bus driver and conductor. Two children — Arushi (10) and Shorya (8), brother and sister — were rescued soon after the landslide, and are undergoing treatment at AIIMS, Bilaspur. The district disaster management team, the police, and residents continued the clearance operation Wednesday as the area remains vulnerable to further slides. Authorities have urged commuters to avoid hilly link roads in the region until the weather stabilises.
