Five rescued from swollen Himachal river

July 15th, 2011 - 8:03 pm ICT by IANS  

Shimla, July 15 (IANS) Five quarry workers were rescued Friday after they were swept away in a swollen river in Himachal Pradesh’s Una district, an official said.

The entire hill state Friday witnessed moderate to heavy rains.

The workers were quarrying at different locations in the Swan, a tributary of the Satluj, when the water level suddenly rose following heavy rainfall in the area, Una Deputy Commissioner K.R. Bharti told IANS by phone.

He said two people were swept away at Ispur village and three at Gagret village.

The strong current took them into the middle of the tributary where they managed to climb onto boulders before being rescued with the help of ropes from a spot which is 100 km from state capital Shimla.

A weather official here said Una town, adjoining Punjab, recorded 108.2 mm of rain.

“Slum dwellers on the banks of the Swan have been asked to move to safer places,” Bharti added.

Rain-fed Swan causes massive damage every monsoon in the villages and towns located along its banks. It enters Punjab at Nangal town.

The Met department has forecast heavy rainfall in Sirmaur, Shimla, Solan, Kangra, Chamba, Mandi, Hamirpur and Una districts till Saturday.

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