2 dead, 12 soldiers trapped in Himachal house collapse

One soldier and a civilian were killed and 12 other soldiers got trapped when a four-storey building collapsed due to rain at Kumarhatti town of Himachal Pradesh on Sunday.

While 18 soldiers and five civilians were pulled out from the debris, the rescue operations by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Army and the state police are on.

According to officials, the incident took place when soldiers, belonging to the nearby Dagshai cantonment, were having meal at a roadside eatery-cum-residential complex, which caved in due to heavy rain.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said 30 soldiers and seven civilians were present in the building, located on the Kumarhatti-Nahan road, around 55 km from Shimla.

Deputy Commissioner K.C. Chaman said measures to rescue people trapped in the debris were on. The injured have been admitted to nearby hospitals.

Continuing rain was hampering the rescue operation, he added. IANS