At least 51 people were killed as rains wreaked havoc across nine districts of Himachal Pradesh, triggering landslides, blocking key roads, damaging homes and burying devotees in the rubble of a temple.
Fourteen bodies were recovered from Shimla who were people trapped under the debris of the Shiva temple in state capital’s summer hill area.
The temple was crowded with devotees, offering prayers as it was the Hindu holy month of Sawan.
Nineteen people were killed in rain-related incidents in Mandi district and 11 people including seven members of a family lost their lives in Solan.
The weather office predicted extremely heavy rains in nine out of 12 districts of the state, barring Kullu, Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti, on Monday and issued a yellow warning for Tuesday.