Frantic rescue op in Himachal amid rise in toll

The death toll after devastating rains in Himachal Pradesh reached at least 57 on Tuesday following the recovery of two bodies from under the rubble of a collapsed Shiv temple in Summer Hill area of Shimla, and two others from Krishna Nagar area where four buildings collapsed in the afternoon.

Overnight rain on Monday triggered multiple landslides and sent rivers into spate in the Himalayan state, washing away vehicles and subsuming buildings into flood waters.

The destruction continued in some areas even on Tuesday, with a harrowing video emerging from Krishna Nagar in Shimla showing a set of four buildings collapsing as the ground underneath them slid away. While two people were confirmed dead in the incident, officials said they were yet to ascertain the exact number of people buried under the rubble.

This is the second time during this year's monsoons that the country's Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are reeling under extreme floods. In July, floods, landslides and mudslides devastated the two states after abnormal volumes of rain led to hundreds of deaths.

In other areas of Himachal, rescue operations resumed as rains subsided on Tuesday morning.

The state government sought the Army's help in rescue operations on Tuesday, while teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and SDRF were already deployed across the state.

Heavy machinery was being used to remove the debris and recover the bodies.

While operations were still centered in Summer Hill and Fagli areas of Shimla, from where most deaths were also reported, the operations concluded in Solan district with the recovery of all seven people buried in a landslide in Jadon village, taking the toll to 11.

Due to inclement weather and rescue operations continuing till late on Tuesday, officials did not issue a death toll, with several more feared trapped under mounds of debris.