Dharamsala, 25 June — Two migrant labourers were swept away and at least 20 others are feared missing after a sudden surge in the Mayuni Khud inundated a construction site near Khaniyara village on Wednesday afternoon. The flash flood followed heavy rains that lashed the hill station for the past 24 hours, with locals reporting a possible cloudburst upstream.
The labourers were engaged in construction work for the Indira Priyadarshini Hydroelectric Project. At the time of the incident, about 20 to 25 workers were staying in temporary shelters along the rivulet, where a micro hydel power project is underway.
“Around 4.30 pm, the water level rose sharply and the labourers who were still on the upper side of the rivulet became unreachable,” one worker said. Efforts were underway to relocate 150 workers from the upper reaches to makeshift sheds downstream, but the sudden flash flood cut off communication with several of them.
Deputy Commissioner Hemraj Bairwa confirmed that two bodies had been recovered but said the exact number of those trapped or missing remains unclear. “I have rushed the SDM to the spot along with teams from the district disaster management authority and local police,” he stated.
Local residents said the water level in the Mayuni Khud rose to alarming levels shortly after the suspected cloudburst. “The cloudburst upstream sent down a torrent that gave the workers little time to react,” one eyewitness said.
MLA Sudhir Sharma expressed sorrow over the incident in a social media post, stating that 20 to 25 labourers might have been swept away. The Deputy Commissioner, however, declined to comment on the MLA’s post, noting that the SDM was on site to provide a verified assessment.
Rescue operations are ongoing, with emergency teams working against time amid challenging terrain and continuous rainfall. Authorities have appealed to locals to stay away from the swollen rivulet and adjoining construction zones as a precautionary measure.
