Himachal rains: three generations of family killed in Shimla temple collapse

A family lost members spanning three generations in the mishap in which a temple in the Summer Hill area of rain-battered Shimla district was washed away following a landslide triggered by Monday’s cloudburst.

According to officials, seven members of the family, including three children were inside the Shiv temple when it collapsed.

The deceased were identified as Pawan Sharma, his wife Santosh, son Aman, daughter-in-law Archna and three granddaughters.

According to State Disaster Response Force, the bodies of five of the family members have been found, while two persons while two others remain missing.

Sunita Sharma, a distressed relative said, "I have just one request, find them and bring them to us. We will accept them dead or alive. We have been waiting for three days.

Sunedhi, the sister of one of the missing persons expressed grief and said, "We don't know what God did to us."

Vinod, the brother of one of the missing persons said, "The administration should make such areas safe, and have some kind of system in place to ensure that the water recedes immediately."

According to officials, a total of 13 bodies have been retrieved so far from the Summer Hill area in Shimla.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today conducted an aerial survey of Fatehpur and Indora in Kangra district to assess the extent of the calamity's impact.