“Standing at the last point of India where civilians are allowed,” Dr Deepa Sharma had tweeted, along with a picture of herself at the Nagasti ITBP check-post at 12:59 pm on Sunday, 25 July.
Minutes later Dr Sharma’s vehicle was hit by a boulder hurtling down, amid a massive landslide in the mountainous Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh. Eight tourists in the same tempo traveller of Dr Sharma and their driver passed away due to the accident.
Two of the 11 people in the vehicle escaped with injuries.
The tourists were en route to Sangla from Chitkul, and on the Sangla-Bateseri road near Bateseri village when a massive landslide occurred in the hill above them, sending several huge boulders hurtling down the slope.
As per Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner's quote to The Indian Express, it was a bright, sunny day and the landslide was unexpected.
Who Was Dr Deepa Sharma?
34-year-old Deepa Sharma was an Ayurvedic doctor and a resident of Jaipur.
She was also active on microblogging site Twitter, with thousands of followers of her own.
A day before her demise she had posted yet another photograph of herself, captioned: “Life is nothing without mother nature.”
Her sister Kavita Sharma told The Indian Express that Deepa had helped many people through Twitter during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“She was always eager to help people,” Kavita said.
The Other Deceased
The other deceased have been Identified as:
Umrab Singh, 42, driver of the minibus
Amogh Bapat (27), a lieutenant with the Indian Navy, who hailed from Chhattisgarh
Satish Kakatbar (34), Amogh’s friend who lived in the United States and had come to India for a holiday
Anurag Bayani (31)
Richa Bayani (25)
Maya Devi Bayani (55), Anurag and Richa’s mother
Pratiksha Sunil Patil (27)
Kumar Ulhas Vedpathak
As per The Indian Express, while eight of the deceased breathed their last in the minibus itself, which was thrown off the road and fell into a ditch, the ninth succumbed to injuries in the hospital.
PM, CM Announce Ex Gratia, Offer Condolences
Prime Minister's office announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 Lakh each to the kin of those who were killed in the landslide. "An ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of those who lost their lives in an accident in Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh. Rs. 50,000 would be given to the injured," the PMO said.
Chief Minister Jairam Thakur also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each. He took to Twitter to offer condolences to the families of those who were killed in the incident.
The CM also took to Twitter to offer condolences, saying: "I spoke to the Kinnaur district administration and inquired about the accident. The administration has started rescue operation at the spot and immediate relief is being provided there. I pray to God for speedy recovery of the injured.”
(With inputs from NDTV and The Indian Express)
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