At least 13 people, including an infant, are feared dead after boulders hit a taxi passing through the Sansari-Killar-Tandi (SKTT) Road near Kadu Nala in Himachal Pradesh's tribal Lahaul-Spiti district.
The horrific incident comes just hours after the route was reopened after an earlier landslide, which had already left the passengers stranded overnight in Tindi.
The taxi, which had originally been carrying 15 passengers from Lahaul-Spiti to Pangi, was crushed when a large section of the hillside collapsed near Kadu Nala on the Udaipur-Killar stretch of the SKTT Road, which caused the boulders to fall.
Police, local administration, and rescue teams were immediately rushed to the spot, after which one injured passenger was pulled out of the debris and shifted to hospital. Heavy machinery is being deployed to clear the landslide and search for the remaining occupants.
Bharmour MLA Janak Raj claimed that two people had been rescued from the accident spot, while 13 others—including a six-month-old infant—died, as per a Times of India report.
He added that he was in constant touch with senior officials of the Chamba and Lahaul-Spiti district administrations to monitor rescue operations and ensure all possible assistance to families of those affected.
A woman from Kullu, identified as Sameshwari Sharma (49), was killed on Friday in a similar manner near Gumma on Pathankot-Mandi National Highway 154, when she had been making her way back from the Simsa Mata Temple, a Jagran report said.
Seven members of her family were also injured after the boulder rolled downhill and killed her when she had been drinking water from the side of the road.
