Kinnaur Landslide: The landslide occurred at a place where people stop to look at the scenic view (File)
The death count in the Kinnaur landslide rose to 14 with the recovery of four more bodies as the rescue operation resumed early on Thursday, officials said.
The rescue work being carried out jointly by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), ITBP, police and home guards, resumed at 6 am, state Disaster Management Director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta said.
The state authorities had suspended the rescue operation around 10 pm on Wednesday.
A Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus, which along with other vehicles, was buried under the debris, has been found badly damaged.
However, a Bolero car feared buried under the rubble could not be traced, Mr Mokhta said, adding that it might be possible that it rolled down with the debris.
The HRTC bus was on its way from Reckong Peo to Haridwar via Shimla when it was hit by boulders after the landslide around Wednesday noon near Chaura village on the National Highway 5 in the Nigulsari area of Nichar tehsil.
In a video clip that surfaced on social media, a rescuer working at the site near the mangled remains of the bus is heard saying that the vehicle was found by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) 17th Battalion.
Another rescuer says that gloves should be brought for continuing the rescue operation. Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner Abid Hussain Sadiq said four more bodies were recovered from the spot after the rescue operation resumed on Thursday.
Fourteen bodies have been recovered so far, he told PTI.
Thirteen people were rescued with injuries on Wednesday and sent to a Bhawanagar community health centre (CHC) for treatment.
Several others were still feared buried. However, their exact number is not known.
In a Facebook post in Hindi, Lokendra Singh Vedic, a resident of Shimla, said his father's body has been found but "rescuers are yet to find his head".
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur Thursday visited the mishap spot to oversee the relief and rescue work, an official spokesperson said.
He also visited the Bhawanagar CHC and enquired about the well-being of the injured. Mr Thakur met the families of the victims and family members of those missing, assuring all possible help from the government.
The Chief Minister said the state government will provide Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the victims and Rs 50,000 to those seriously injured.
Rs 1 lakh will be given to the family of the dead bus passengers by the Transport Department, he said, adding that free treatment will be provided to the injured.
The Chief Minister said the state government will also conduct a geological survey of the area.
Earlier, a two-minute silence was observed in the state Assembly to pay homage to those who died in the landslide.
Urban Development Minister Suresh Bhardwaj told the Assembly that Mr Thakur, along with Industries and Transport Minister Bikram Singh, has gone to the spot to take stock of the rescue work.
Mr Bhardwaj said the landslide occurred at a place where people usually stop their vehicles to look at the scenic view and take photographs.
The state government had requisitioned four helicopters for rescue work on Wednesday but they could not reach the site due to bad weather, he added.
Senior Congress leader Asha Kumari said Leader of the Opposition Mukesh Agnihotri, Rampur MLA Nand Lal and Shimla Rural MLA Vikramaditya Singh have also gone to the spot.
Expressing grief, CPM MLA Rakesh Singha said the factors that cause such landslides should also be examined.
The chief minister had told the state Assembly on Wednesday that 50-60 people were feared trapped under the debris but the exact number was not known.
Eight of the dead were found trapped in a Tata Sumo taxi during the rescue operation.
The victims have been identified as Rohit Kumar (25), a resident of Kaiya village at Rampur in Shimla; Vijay Kumar (32) of Jhol village in Sujanpur of Hamirpur ; two-year-old Vanshuka of Sapni in Sangla of Kinnaur; Meera Devi, Nitisha, Prem Kumari , Gyan Dassi, Devi Chand (53), Kumari Radhika (22), Bhupender (29), all from Kinnaur; Kamlesh Kumar (34) of Rechuta village in Solan and Lakshman Thapa (19), who is from Nepal and currently living in Theog, Shimla.
One dead person is yet to be identified, Mr Mokhta added.