Landslide crushes bus in Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur district, killing at least 15

At least 15 people were killed when a massive landslide struck a private bus in the Bhalughat area of Jhandutta in Himachal Pradesh’s Bilaspur district on Tuesday evening, PTI reported. The bus, carrying 25 to 30 passengers on its way to Ghumarwin, was buried when a huge portion of the mountain gave way at around 6.40pm.

Fifteen bodies have been recovered from the debris so far, and several more passengers are feared trapped, officials said. Two children were rescued and are under treatment at AIIMS Bilaspur, while search operations with National Disaster Response Force teams and sniffer dogs are continuing for a missing eight-year-old boy, ANI reported.

The region has been lashed by intermittent rain since Monday, making the fragile mountain slopes unstable, officials said. Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri reached the accident site late at night and has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia payment of ₹2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund to the next of kin of each person killed, and ₹50,000 to each of the injured. “Saddened by the loss of lives due to a mishap in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh,” Modi wrote on X, adding his thoughts were with the affected families. President Droupadi Murmu, Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and other leaders also condoled the deaths.