Shimla, August 17
Rescuers on Thursday retrieved a body when it resumed search operations on the fourth day in the Himachal Pradesh capital where a massive landslide washed away a Hindu temple. With this, the death toll rose to 14.
The body was that of a professor of Himachal Pradesh University here, an official told IANS. It was retrieved 2km away from the disaster spot.
The authorities are suspecting that at least seven people might be trapped in the mud pile.
The officials said all bodies, except one, were identified and handed over to their families.
Relatives of people have approached the local authorities to know about their whereabouts.
“So far, we have received information about seven missing people and are on the job to locate them,” a rescuer said.
He said the dead included seven of a family, comprising three children, who were at the Shiv temple in Summer Hill when the disaster occurred.
Pawan Sharma, 60, who owns a shop in the Summer Hill market, his wife Santosh Sharma, 57, son Aman Sharma, 32, daughter-in-law Archana Sharma, 27, and three granddaughters aged between 12 and 1.5 years were at the temple for a havan when it collapsed.
While bodies of four of the family have been found, three are still missing with rescuers say chances of their survival look bleak.
