Search Ops to trace missing persons enters 7th day, families losing hope

Shimla: Family members of the around 30 people who went missing following flash floods triggered by a cloudburst here on July 31 have begun losing hope as the search and rescue operations to trace the victims entered the seventh day on Wednesday amid incessant rains.

Sharing details about the ongoing operation in Samej village here, Assistant Commanding Officer, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Karam Singh, said, “It is raining but the joint search and rescue operations are underway.”

“The water level is rising in Sutlej River and slides are also occurring at multiple places. JCBs and other machines are being used to clear the roads. Our soldiers are skilled and cross the river through ropes to search the sites where there is any possibility of finding the missing people”, Singh added.

Samej falls under Sarpara Panchayat in Rampur subdivision of Shimla. The family members of the missing persons who have been camping at the site for the past seven days have now lost hope and are praying for the recovery of bodies to perform last rites.

“The entire family including my brother, two sisters-in-law, daughter-in-law, nephews and niece are missing,” said Moti Ram who along with one of his daughter-in-law and grandson survived as they were out of home when the tragedy struck.

The water level in the river is increasing and the rescue teams are facing a lot of difficulty due to the continuous rains, said Kair Singh, a local.