Officials reported Friday that at least three people were dead and 16 others were missing after a landslide in northern India’s Himalayas swept away stores.
The “heavy landslide” on a renowned Hindu pilgrimage path was caused by rains early Friday morning, according to the Uttarakhand state disaster department.
“We have recovered the bodies of three people so far during the search and rescue operations,” disaster management official Nandan Singh Rajwar said in a statement.
“The rescue work is going on to find the remaining people.”
Images showed shop wreckage strewn across a steep hill that led down to a river below.
Since the start of the annual monsoon season in June, India has been pounded by rains, with flooding and landslides killing dozens of people.
Last month, a major landslide in the western state of Maharashtra killed at least 27 people.
Monsoon rains are essential for recharging rivers and groundwater, but the annual deluge also causes enormous devastation.
Climate change, according to experts, is increasing the number of extreme weather events worldwide, with damming, deforestation, and development projects in India compounding the human toll.
