Himachal: 10 people including 5 forest officials stuck in Mandi's Kol dam rescued

Mandi: As many as 10 people, who got stuck in a motorboat at the Kol dam reservoir in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi after their vessel malfunctioned, were rescued in a midnight operation, NDRF officials said on Monday.  
According to officials, personnel of the 14 Battalion of the National Disaster Response Force saved the lives of the 10 persons who were trapped in the dam.
"Victims were around 20 km away in the water body. A team left for the site in a steamer of the dam authority at around 8.30 pm and reached near victims at 12.15 am. One of the NDRF swimmers took the risk and went to the boat of victims and anchored the (stranded) boat. After arduous effort all 10 people were evacuated," NDRF said.
The rescue operation concluded at around 2.30 am.
Out of the 10 who were trapped included five forest officials.  
The Himachal Pradesh government has declared the whole state as a 'natural calamity affected area'.
According to the latest information provided by the state government, the total monetary loss in Himachal has reached Rs 8014.61 crore since June 24.
A total of 2,022 houses have been fully damaged, and 9,615 houses have been partially damaged, with 113 landslides occurring in this year's monsoon season.
A total of 224 lost lives in the monsoon fury while 117 people died in road accidents in the state so far, according to the government bulletin.
Seventeen bodies have been recovered to date in the Summer Hill incident and further operations are underway to recover the missing bodies. (ANI)