Munish Sood
MANDI:
Hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Himachal Pradesh to assess the devastation caused due to heavy rain, another tragedy struck the hill state in the wee hours of Tuesday (September 9, 2025) as five members of a family were buried alive after a house collapsed in the Nirmand area of Kullu district.
It’s the third major landslide in Kullu district within a week. The house was hit by a landslide and all eight persons were trapped inside. Three of them were rescued safely while the bodies of the remaining five have been recovered.
The incident occurred at Shamani village under Ghatu panchayat of Nirmand. The house was buried under the debris. Eight members of the same family were sleeping in the house at the time. Three of them were rescued safely, while five were trapped and none of them survived. All five bodies have now been recovered.
SDM Manmohan Singh confirmed the incident and said that teams had been sent to the site for relief and rescue operations. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has expressed grief over the entire incident.
Third tragedy in a week in Kullu
The latest calamity comes on the heels of two devastating landslides in Akhara Baazar of Kullu town last week where 11 persons were killed in separate incidents and several houses and shops were reduced to rubble. With the Nirmand disaster, the death toll from landslides in Kullu alone has mounted further, exposing the fragile state of the district’s terrain.
Fear grips locals after repeated landslides
The residents of Sharmani village described the landslide as terrifying, with mud and rocks sweeping down the hillside and carving out a deep gorge-like channel. “We are living in constant fear. The mountains are sliding every day and no one feels safe in their homes anymore,” said a villager.
The atmosphere in the area remains tense, with many families shifting to temporary shelters or spending nights outdoors to avoid being caught in sudden landslides.
