9 Swept Away In Himachal Village, 4 Bodies Found 150 km Away

A deathly silence has spread in Himachal Pradesh's Panglued village where nine people of two families were swept away in floods. While bodies of four have been found, 150 km away in Jwalapur, five are still missing. The incident occurred 10 days ago and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is still looking for the missing five.

Distraught and heartbroken by the tragedy, Khem Lata is neither able to speak properly nor cry. Having lost six of her family members - grandmother, father, mother, brother, sister-in-law and a nephew and niece - Khem Lata, 23, is the lone survivor.

Bodies of Khem Lata's mother Devki, brother Jhabar and nine-year-old niece have been recovered. However, her grandmother, father Padma Singh, sister-in-law Parvati and a seven-year-old nephew continue to be missing after being swept away in the strong current.

Two other people who were washed away in the floods were their neighbors - an elderly couple. While the woman's body has been found, the man, who is estimated to be over 70 years, is still missing.

Dhameshwar Singh, brother of Padma Singh, took NDTV reporter to the spot where once stood the flood victim's house and tomato field. With everything washed away, all that remains is debris. NDTV reporter crossed a makeshift wooden bridge to reach the village.

Recalling the tragic night, Dhameshwar Singh said, "Around 1 am, the water suddenly rose. The neighbours, an elderly couple, used to live in a kuchcha house and came to Padma Singh's house for shelter. As the water rose, the nine people moved to the first floor and then second."

Mr Singh remembers being present on the other side of the river and feeling helpless owing to the heavy flow of water.

"We thought that the house, built of brick and mortar, will withstand the floods. The water will subside by morning and then we will move everyone out. I spoke to my brother at 2 am and he said that the house is shaking and asked to save them. Soon the call disconnected," said Mr Singh.

NDTV also met Narendra, son of the elderly couple swept away. "At 12, I learned about the rising water level. At 1 am, I spoke to my father and he said that the house is breaking down and they are going to Padma Singh's place. However, after some time, when I called again to check on them, nobody was responsive."

Himachal Pradesh Floods: 91 Dead, 34 Missing

In Himachal, 91 people have died and 34 have gone missing since the beginning of the monsoon on June 20. The number of injured have increased to 130 owing to flash floods and cloudburst.

The impact of rain fury is also seen on the infrastructure with 207 roads including one national highway now closed and 132 electricity transformers being out of order. Around 840 water projects have also come to a halt.

Army, teams of NDRF, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and Himachal Police are involved in rescue operations and search is on for the missing people.

The weather is forecast to remain bad in Himachal for six days, till July 16. An orange alert for heavy rain in parts of Kangra and Sirmaur has been issued and yellow alert for many parts from July 11-16.