Priyanka Gandhi condoles deaths due to cloudbursts, landslides in Himachal Pradesh

New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday condoled the deaths of people due to cloudbursts and landslides in Himachal Pradesh. 
Taking to 'X' (formerly known as 'Twitter'), Vadra wrote, "Sad news was received of several deaths due to cloudburst in Himachal Pradesh's Solan and massive landslide at Shiv Temple in Summerhill, Shimla. May God give peace to the departed souls. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families. I pray to God for the speedy recovery of the injured and the safe recovery of the missing". 
Nine people have been killed and several others are feared trapped under the debris of a temple, which collapsed in Shimla after being hit by a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall on Monday.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed his condolences over the deaths and said efforts are underway to rescue the people trapped under the debris of the collapsed temple in the Summer Hill area.
“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,” said CM Sukhu. 
"Twenty to 25 people are trapped under debris here. A total of 21 people have died in the last 24 hours in the state. I appeal to people to stay indoors, to not venture near rivers and landslide-prone areas. Restoration work will begin as soon as rain stops," the chief minister said.
Personnel of the SDRF, NDRF and Army are present on the spot to carry out operations to rescue the stranded people.
In a separate incident, the incident of cloudburst was reported at Jadon village of Kandaghat subdivision in Solan district of the state, Siddhartha Acharya, Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Kandaghat said.
The death toll in the cloudburst at Jadon village in Himachal Pradesh's Solan has risen to seven with the recovery of two more bodies on Monday morning, officials said.
Earlier, five people were reported dead and three people were reported missing.
Two houses and one cowshed also got washed away in the incident.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed condolences over the deaths and directed authorities to ensure all possible assistance and support.
Meanwhile, predicting further spells of rains, regional weather department in Himachal Pradesh has issued heavy rainfall alert for several districts, including Shimla, Kullu, Mandi among others for Monday.
"Moderate to heavy rainfall at most places, with very heavy rainfall at a few places, is very likely to continue over the state. Possibility of extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in the districts of Chamba, Kangra, Mandi, Shimla, Kullu, Lahaul and Spiti, and Sirmaur," the regional weather department said in an alert on Monday morning. (ANI)