NEW DELHI: At least 15 people were killed late Tuesday after debris from a massive landslide hit a bus in India’s northern state of Himachal Pradesh, local authorities said.
The bus was traveling on a hilly stretch near Bilaspur district when a landslide struck following days of torrential rains. There were at least 20 to 25 passengers on the bus at the time. Nine men, four women and two children were among those killed, police said.
Three injured children were rescued and admitted to a local hospital for treatment, according to a statement from the office of Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the state’s highest-elected official.
Rescue operations continued Wednesday trying to find other missing passengers who are believed to be dead, police said.
Intermittent rains have lashed the region since Monday, making the fragile mountain slopes unstable.
President Draupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered their condolences following the deadly landslide.
Extreme rains this year have caused flooding and landslides across the South Asian region, which includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives and Nepal.
Flash floods swept away an entire village in India’s northern state of Uttarakhand in August, while at least 44 people were killed in neighboring Nepal over the weekend due to mudslides and flooding triggered by severe rainfall.
The weekend’s heavy rainfall arrived at the end of Nepal’s monsoon season, which usually begins in June and ends by mid-September. It also left parts of the capital, Katmandu, flooded and caused the cancelation of all domestic flights on Saturday.
Experts say human-caused climate change is intensifying South Asia’s monsoons, which traditionally run from June to September and again from October to December. The rains, once predictable, now arrive in erratic bursts that dump extreme amounts of water in short periods, followed by dry spells.
Landslide in northern India hits a bus, killing at least 15 people
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Landslide in northern India hits a bus, killing at least 15 people
- At least 15 people have died after debris from a massive landslide hit a bus in India’s northern state of Himachal Pradesh
- The bus was traveling on a hilly stretch late Tuesday when a landslide struck following days of torrential rains
Colombia’s top guerrilla leader threatens vote disruption
- The president has launched a manhunt with a million-dollar reward to capture Mordisco, whom he likens to cocaine baron Pablo Escobar who was slain in 1993
BOGOTA: Colombia’s most-wanted guerrilla leader Ivan Mordisco threatened to disrupt the country’s 2026 presidential election, in a video released on Tuesday, in response to deadly military strikes against his armed group.
The military operations were part of President Gustavo Petro’s intensifying attacks against groups involved in cocaine trafficking, following fierce pressure from US President Donald Trump over his alleged inaction on drug production.
Mordisco, the leader of a dissident faction of the former FARC guerrillas, said the strikes that have killed dozens were a “declaration of war.”
In the video, Mordisco warned of repercussions for next year’s election, which will determine the successor to the country’s left-wing president who is constitutionally barred from running again.
“We wanted the 2026 electoral process to be as smooth as possible, but given the advance of warmongering actors, we have no choice but to take a stand,” he said.
Authorities have confirmed military strikes have claimed the lives of 15 minors since August, sparking public outrage.
The teenagers had been abducted by the same armed groups in the soldiers’ crosshairs.
Petro’s policies were “pandering to the gringos, who are thirsty for the blood of Colombian children,” Mordisco said, referring to Americans.
The president has launched a manhunt with a million-dollar reward to capture Mordisco, whom he likens to cocaine baron Pablo Escobar who was slain in 1993.
Mordisco leads a dissident faction that rejected the 2016 peace agreement that led to the disarmament of the former FARC. His group controls cocaine production in several regions of the country.
The lead-up to Colombia’s 2026 election has already been marred by violence, with candidate and opposition senator Miguel Uribe shot while campaigning in June. He died in hospital in August and police blamed the shooting on guerrillas.
