Shimla: The death toll in Kinnaur landslide rose to 14 with the recovery of four more bodies as the rescue operation resumed early on Thursday, officials said.
The rescue work being carried out jointly by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), ITBP, police and home guards, resumed at 6 am, state Disaster Management Director Sudesh Kumar Mokhta said.
The state authorities had suspended the rescue operation around 10 pm on Wednesday.
A Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) bus, which along with other vehicles, was buried under the debris, has been found badly damaged.
However, a Bolero car feared buried under the rubble could not be traced, Mokhta said, adding that it might be possible that it rolled down with the debris.
The HRTC bus was on its way from Reckong Peo to Haridwar via Shimla when it was hit by boulders after the landslide around Wednesday noon near Chaura village on the National Highway 5 in the Nigulsari area of Nichar tehsil.
In a video clip that surfaced on social media, a rescuer working at the site near the mangled remains of the bus is heard saying that the vehicle was found by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) 17th Battalion.
Another rescuer says that gloves should be brought for continuing the rescue operation.
Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner Abid Hussain Sadiq said four more bodies were recovered from the spot after the rescue operation resumed on Thursday. Fourteen bodies have been recovered so far, he added.