Officials and police said Wednesday that the death toll from a landslide that hit a private bus in the Indian hill state of Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday evening, October 7, has risen to 15, with one child still missing.
Assistant Commandant Karam Singh of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) told Indian news agency ANI that the incident in the Bilaspur district injured two children.
“In this horrific mishap, 15 people lost their lives, including 9 men, 4 women, and 2 innocent children, while 2 children were injured and the search for one continues,” Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri said in an X post on Wednesday.
“The major cause of this incident is the rain that has been happening for the last two days in the region,” a senior police officer told ANI.
According to The Times of India, Himachal Pradesh recorded 25.7 mm of rainfall between October 6 and 7, causing damage to agricultural land. The hill state received 2,752% more rainfall than normal.
In West Bengal’s Darjeeling district, 23 people were killed and many more injured as floods and landslides caused by heavy rains washed away houses, bridges, and roads, leaving many missing and rescue operations still underway.
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This article includes reporting from Reuters.