Kinnaur landslide: ITBP rescue team spots panel of Himachal road transport bus under debris, no trace of over 30 passengers

Rescue officials have said they have spotted a panel of a Himachal road transport bus, which was hit by boulders and got trapped under the debris of Wednesday's landslide in Nigulsari area in the state's Kinnaur district but there was, however, no sign of the over 30 passengers said to be travelling in the bus.

"After clearing the debris on the road by earthmovers, only one panel of the bus was found in the rubble. No traces of the passengers and the bus till now. ITBP teams have now gone towards the river bed from multiple directions to find the bus," Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) said in an official statement.

The 30-seater Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus, a truck and four cars were among the vehicles that came under the rubble, as the landslide hit the Reckong Peo-Shimla Highway around 12 noon with over 50 people feared to be trapped under it.

The HRTC bus, which was moving from Murang to Haridwar was believed to have fallen into the Sutlej river after rescue officials could not locate it under the debris.

As per ITBP spokesperson Vivek Pandey, over 30 people were said to be traveling in the bus.

During the ongoing operations by ITBP, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Army and local police, 10 people have been rescued so far, said the State Emergency Operation Centre. This includes the bus driver and the conductor.

ITBP said that as many as 10 bodies were retrieved from the debris of the landslide and 14 injured were rescued.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have both spoken to chief minister Jairam Thakur and assured of all possible help in the rescue and search operations.

( With inputs from ANI )

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