Three bodies retrieved, death toll in Shimla temple disaster reaches 20

Shimla, Aug 24

Rescuers on Thursday retrieved three more bodies in a search operation on the 10th day in the Himachal Pradesh capital where a massive landslide washed away a Hindu temple.

With this, the death toll rose to 20 with the recovery of bodies of all missing people.

The officials said all bodies were identified and handed over to their family members.

The dead included seven of a family, comprising three children, who were inside the Shiv Bawadi temple in Summer Hill when the disaster occurred.

Pawan Sharma, 60, who owns a shop in the Summer Hill market, his wife Santosh Sharma, 57, son Aman Sharma, 32, daughter-in-law Archana Sharma, 27, and three granddaughters aged between 12 and 1.5 years were at the temple for a “havan” when it collapsed.

On the same day, Shimla witnessed another landslide in Fagli where five people were killed. A day later at least five houses collapsed in the Krishna Nagar area close to the Old Bus Stand in Shimla in which two people were killed.