Himachal Shimla Shiv Temple Collapse: 'Saw Scene Of Devastation In Front Of My Eyes', Says Eyewitness

A major accident took place in Himachal's capital Shimla on Monday morning. The Shiv Bawdi temple located in the Summerhill area here was hit by a landslide due to heavy rains. More than 25 people present there were buried under the debris. So far 5 bodies including 2 children have been retrieved. The search for the rest is on.

This temple is in the Baluganj area, a suburb of Shimla. Due to Sawan Somwar, the temple was crowded since morning. Many families had gone for darshan.

Due to heavy rains, there is a problem in the rescue operation. Stones are still falling from the hill. Four to five trees fell on top of the temple along with the debris. More damage was caused by the trees. SDRF, ITBP, Police and local people are engaged in the rescue. Debris is being removed from JCB machine.

A local resident told that when he came to the temple in the morning everything was fine here. He forgot some things at home. So went back home from the temple to bring them. While coming back to the temple from home, the landslide had started and he saw this scene of devastation in front of his eyes. He told that two carpenters, a Nepali and some people were present in the temple at the time of the accident. The local people removed the Nepali from the debris. But some people are trapped inside the temple.

Another local resident Kishore Thakur told that his 4 nephews are also trapped inside the temple. He said that every year Bhandara is held in the temple on 15th August and today is the last Somwar of Sawan. That's why six-seven people including his nephew were present in the temple to make kheer.

CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu also reached the spot. He said the local administration is working to clear the debris. The trapped people are being evacuated. On the other hand, CM's media advisor Naresh Chauhan said, 10 to 15 people are feared to be trapped.

7 people of same family die due to cloudburst in Solan

It is raining heavily in Himachal for the last 55 hours. Apart from Shimla, the accident took place in Solan also due to landslide. 7 people of the same family died due to cloudburst in Jadon village. Two houses were washed away in this late night incident, in which there is also news of 3 people missing. On the other hand, a flood-like situation prevailed in Balh Valley of Mandi district due to heavy rains. Beas river is in spate. According to officials, many tourists are stranded here. In the last two days, more than 30 houses were completely damaged and 180 houses were partially damaged in the state.