3 days after Kullu flash flood, missing teen's body found

Shimla: The National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) team on Saturday recovered the body of one of the three persons who went missing in a flash flood in Raila Bihal area of Sainj valley in Kullu district.

On the third day of the search operation, rescuers found the body of 13-year-old Murti Devi near Bakshahal area. The flood had struck on June 26. "We are hopeful of recovering the other two bodies. Since all three missing persons were together, we have requested the NDRF team to carry out the search operation in Bakshahal," said Kullu deputy commissioner Torul S Raveesh.

The deputy commissioner said water level had receded in the area. The body has been handed over to the police for a post-mortem.

In Dharamshala, two persons are still missing. They were swept away from a hydropower project site by a flash flood in Manuni Khad in Khanyara on June 26.

Dharamshala SDM Mohit Rattan said six bodies had been recovered, identified, and their family members had been contacted. He added the process to extend immediate relief to the family of the deceased was also complete. "The search operation is in progress. In all, 75% of the search team members are looking for the remaining two missing persons upstream and 25% downstream," he added.

More rain in store

The weather department has issued an orange alert for Sunday, predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places over Una, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Kangra, Sirmaur, and Solan districts, and heavy rainfall at isolated places over Chamba, Kullu, Shimla, and Mandi districts. Isolated thunderstorms or lightning have also been predicted over the low hills and mid-hills of the state, including Mandi and Shimla districts, from June 28 to 29.

Emergency response centres

The Himachal Pradesh council of ministers, which met on Saturday, also gave the nod to an emergency response centre in each of the 3,645 panchayats of the state to ensure an effective response in the event of natural disasters to save human lives and properties.