Several people are feared buried after a landslide in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur left many vehicles trapped under debris this afternoon.

The landslide took place on the Reckong Peo-Shimla Highway in Kinnaur at around 12.45 pm. A truck, a state-run bus and other vehicles are believed to have been buried in rubble.

Reports suggest the bus, travelling to Shimla, had 40 people on board.

Teams of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) have been sent to the area for rescue operations. Chief Minister Jairam Thakur said the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had also been called in.

A landslide reported on Reckong Peo- Shimla Highway in #Kinnaur District in Himachal Pradesh today at around 12.45 Hrs. One truck, a HRTC Bus and few vehicles reported came under the rubble. Many people reported trapped. ITBP teams rushed for rescue. More details awaited. pic.twitter.com/ThLYsL2cZK

— ITBP (@ITBP_official) August 11, 2021

“I’ve directed the police and the local administration to carry out rescue operations. NDRF has also been put on alert. We have received information that one bus and a car could have been hit. We are waiting for detailed information,” Mr Thakur told reporters.

Heavy, incessant rain has caused many landslides in parts of Himachal Pradesh over the past few weeks.

Last month, nine tourists were killed after huge boulders fell on their cars in another part of Kinnaur.

A video that was circulated online showed boulders rolling downhill and smashing into a bridge.

Many such videos have emerged from the state this season. In another incident, a stretch of road collapsed as a hillside crashed down in dramatic visuals of a landslide at Sirmaur after two days of incessant rain.