At collapsed temple site in Shimla, anxious eyes in search of loved ones: ‘Hope they are safe somewhere’
The rescue teams have found 11 bodies so far after the shrine was washed away due to a cloudburst Monday morning. More than 30 people were inside the temple.
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Karandeep Sharma and Mohit Sharma in the search of Pawan Sharma and his family members. (Express photo by Saurabh Parashar) Karandeep Sharma is among the more than two dozen people assembled at the site of the collapsed Shiv Bawari temple in the Summer Hill area of Shimla in Himachal Pradesh to search for their dear ones missing since Monday morning when heavy rain triggered a landslide and buried devotees.
When the rescue teams announce the finding of a body or a mutilated limb, Karandeep and many others like him reach a designated spot to see if they can identify it, and at the same time, wishing it is not of their loved ones.
Ramesh Sharma, brother of Dr P L Sharma, the director of UIET, Himachal Pradesh University (HPU), Shimla. (Express photo by Saurabh Parashar)
“My uncle Pawan Sharma, 60, and his entire family — his wife, Santosh Sharma, 57; son Aman Sharma, 32; daughter-in-law, Archna Sharma, 27; and three granddaughters aged between 12 and 1.5 years – were present in the temple yesterday when the tragedy struck,” Karandeep, 33, an IT professional working in Chandigarh, told The Indian Express.
“So far, my aunt Santosh Sharma, her son Aman Sharma, and one of her granddaughters, Seshya, have been confirmed dead. Pawan Sharma, Archna Sharma and two of my nieces are still missing. I hope they are safe somewhere,” he added.
The missing Pawan Sharma is a native resident of Summer Hill. He has been popular locally with his decades-old Aman Electricals shop at the Summar Hill market that he named after his son.
Mohit Sharma, the cousin of Pawan Sharma, said, “Pawan Sharma had organised a Pooja in the shrine Monday. This is the reason why his entire family had come to the temple. I was told that when tragedy struck, they were on the main premises of the temple, which was washed away, along with the priest. The priest Suman Pandit is also missing.”
The rescue teams have found 11 bodies so far after the shrine was washed away due to a cloudburst around 7.30 am Monday. The accident took place when an aarti was going on and, according to locals, more than 30 people were inside. The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team, along with the Army, started the rescue work within two hours.
Ramesh Sharma, 55, a headmaster with a government senior secondary school in Bilaspur, is another one who is also in pursuit of his missing relatives, including his brother Dr P L Sharma, 59, the director of UIET, Himachal Pradesh University (HPU), Shimla. Dr P L Sharma was at the temple with his wife Rekha Sharma, 54; and son Ish Sharma, 26, a PhD scholar.
Standing on the pile of debris and observing the rescue work, Ramesh Sharma said, “Teams found the body of Rekha Sharma today (Tuesday). The face was disfigured and not recognisable. We identified the body with a gold ring on one of the fingers of the left hand. We matched the gold ring with a recently taken photograph of Rekha Sharma. My elder brother, Dr PL Sharma, and his son are still missing. May God keep them safe.”
SDRF SP (Shimla), Ilma Afroz, said, “The rescue work will continue until finding the last missing person. Today, we have increased our workforce.”
The temple collapse was among the several rain-related accidents in Himachal Pradesh over the last two days, in which more than 50 people have been killed. A yellow alert has been issued in Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Solan, Shimla, Sirmaur and Hamirpur for Tuesday.
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