In a massive tragedy, six people were killed, and several others injured after a massive tree, uprooted by a storm and landslide, crashed onto parked vehicles and roadside stalls near Gurudwara Manikaran Sahib in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district on Sunday. According to officials, the tree, located on a mountain slope opposite the gurudwara, was uprooted amid heavy winds and fell onto vehicles and makeshift stalls along the road, crushing those nearby. Among the deceased were Reena, a local resident from Manikaran, Varsini from Bangalore, and Sameer, a Nepalese national working in Kullu. The identities of the other three victims are yet to be confirmed.
Six others sustained injuries in the accident, including Bengaluru residents Ramesh, his wife Pallavi, and their son Bhargav. The other injured were identified as Prachi from Haryana and Vikram Acharya along with his wife, Tumpa Acharya. According to Kullu Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Ashwani Kumar, police and district administration teams shifted the injured to the local community hospital in Jari for treatment and are reported to be out of danger.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur expressed their condolences over the tragic incident. The CM directed the district administration to extend full support to the victims' families and ensure the best medical care for the injured.
Kullu Tehsildar Harichand Yadav stated that financial assistance had been provided to the victims. "The families of the deceased have been granted ₹25,000 as ex-gratia, while the injured have received Rs 10,000 each," he said.
Authorities continue to monitor the situation closely, urging caution in the region as weather conditions remain unstable. Meanwhile, videos of the disaster surfaced on social media, with bystanders alleging that no immediate help arrived within the first hour of the incident.
(With agency inputs)