50 dead in Himachal landslides and cloudburst, seven swept away by flash floods

In the third major rain-related tragedy in less than 24 hours, flash floods have swept away seven people while nine people were killed in a landslide at a Shiv Temple in Shimla city on Monday.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu shared a video clip from the Sambal village in Mandi district, saying that active rescue, search, and relief operations are currently in progress to address "this dreadful situation".

"Disturbing visuals have emerged from Sambhal, Pandoh - District Mandi, where, as reported, seven individuals have been swept away by flash floods today. Active rescue, search, and relief operations are currently in progress to address this dreadful situation," he tweeted.

Earlier, 16 people were killed in two separate incidents related to heavy rains.

Seven people died after a cloudburst incident in the Solan district last night, while nine others were killed in a landslide at a Shiv Temple in the Summer Hill area of Shimla city.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are engaged in relief and rescue operations in rain-hit Himachal Pradesh and termed the loss of lives due to the deluge as "extremely distressing".

According to the state emergency operation centre, 752 roads were closed in the state because of the calamity.

The heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh, and neighbouring Uttarakhand, are due to a fresh spell of Western Disturbance, the Indian Meteorological Department said today.

"The location of the Monsoon trough lies along the foothills of the Himalayas, and hence the South-westerly Arabian Sea monsoonal winds are hitting the Himalayan foothills," the weather department said.