NEW DELHI: More than 50 people are feared killed in Himachal Pradesh as heavy rains battered the hill state and elevated fears of flooding downstream in neighbouring states of Uttarakhand and parts of Punjab that have seen the harrowing natural fury just last month.

The incessant downpour due to cloud bursts triggered landslides in several places, uprooting trees, damaging power lines, washing away and blocking key roads making it difficult for rescue workers to reach the affected areas.

According to the state disaster response centre as many as 620 roads, including the key Shimla-Chandigarh road are either flooded or closed across the state due to the relentless downpour. 

The 50-metre bridge Shimla-Kalka railway bridge which is a UNESCO heritage site near Summer Hill in Shimla was also badly damaged and the tracks were seen hanging since the land under it has washed away.

Disaster has also stuck the state capital Shimla, as dozens of devotees offering prayers on an important day of sawan at the Shiv Bawdi shrine in the Summer Hill area are feared dead as they got trapped when it collapsed due to a massive landslide. 

Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi, SP of Police, Shimla has told reporters that 14 bodies have been pulled out of the rubble at the two landslide sites of Summer Hill and from nearby Fagli, and 17 persons have been rescued. Officials however feared there could be several more people trapped inside. 

Deaths due to flash floods and other rain-related incidents have also been reported from Mandi, Kangra, Chamba, Bilaspur, Hamirpur and Solan also and it is estimated that about 30 people have been dead in these districts. 

The weather department has issued a yellow warning for and predicted extremely heavy rains in nine out of 12 districts of the state, barring Kullu, Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti. According to the department, the wet spell in the state could continue till August 18.

Meanwhile, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu visited several affected areas including the site of the temple collapse in Shimla's Summer Hill. He said that all efforts are being made to rescue people buried underneath the debris.

Earlier he Tweeted on the microblogging site, X, "Distressing news has emerged from Shimla, where the Shiv Mandir at Summer Hill collapsed as a result of the heavy rainfall. As of now, nine bodies have been retrieved. The local administration is diligently working to clear the debris in order to rescue individuals who may still be trapped. Om Shanti."

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) along with army personnel are engaged in relief and rescue operations in the hill state.