Munish Sood
Mandi
A 38-year-old woman was k*illed after a massive boulder crashed down a rain-weakened hillside and struck her near the Shani Temple in the Aut area of Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district today , highlighting the deadly risks posed by the relentless monsoon that continues to batter the hill state.
The victim, identified as Sukhveer Kaur, a resident of Nalagarh in Solan district, was travelling with her family when the tragedy unfolded.
According to police, the family had halted their car near the Shani Temple after Sukhveer Kaur complained of nausea during the journey. She stepped out of the vehicle to vomit when, within seconds, a huge boulder suddenly detached from the hillside above and came crashing down on her. She suffered fatal injuries in the impact.
The horrific incident took place in full view of her family, leaving them devastated. Local residents rushed to help and alerted the police and district administration. Emergency responders reached the spot without delay and shifted the injured woman to the nearest hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival.
Police have taken the body into custody for post-mortem examination and initiated further legal proceedings.
The accident comes amid days of incessant rainfall across Mandi district, where saturated slopes have become increasingly unstable, triggering landslides, rockfalls and road blockades at several locations. Authorities have warned that continuous rainfall has substantially increased the risk of hill slopes collapsing, particularly along highways and mountain roads.
The district administration has urged both residents and tourists to exercise utmost caution while travelling during the ongoing monsoon, advising them to avoid halting vehicles near vulnerable hill faces and landslide-prone stretches.
The latest fatality underscores the growing toll of the monsoon in Himachal Pradesh, where relentless rains have not only disrupted road connectivity but also turned many mountain routes into hazardous corridors, prompting authorities to remain on high alert.
