A tragic incident unfolded late Tuesday in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, as a landslide claimed the lives of at least 15 people. The victims were aboard a bus traveling near the Bilaspur district when the landslide, triggered by days of heavy rainfall, struck. The bus was carrying between 20 to 25 passengers at the time of the incident.
The casualties included nine men, four women, and two children, according to local law enforcement. In addition to the fatalities, three children were injured and subsequently admitted to a local hospital for treatment. This information was confirmed by a statement from the office of Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the state’s highest elected official.
Rescue operations were still underway on Wednesday, with efforts focused on locating missing passengers who are feared to be dead. The region has been experiencing intermittent rainfall since Monday, which has destabilized the already fragile mountain slopes.
The incident drew responses from the country’s top officials. President Draupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed their condolences in the wake of the deadly landslide.
The South Asian region, which includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, the Maldives, and Nepal, has been grappling with the effects of extreme rainfall this year. The heavy rains have resulted in widespread flooding and landslides. In August, flash floods wiped out an entire village in Uttarakhand, another northern Indian state. Neighboring Nepal also suffered from severe rainfall-induced mudslides and flooding over the weekend, resulting in at least 44 deaths.
The heavy rainfall in Nepal marked the end of the country’s monsoon season, which typically starts in June and concludes by mid-September. The downpour led to flooding in parts of Kathmandu, the capital, and resulted in the cancellation of all domestic flights on Saturday.
Climate change, caused by human activities, is believed to be exacerbating the monsoons in South Asia. The monsoon season, which traditionally runs from June to September and again from October to December, is now characterized by unpredictable and extreme rainfall followed by dry spells.