Himachal: Driver of excavator killed as big boulders hit machine on NH-5 after landslide

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], March 4 : The driver of an excavator was killed after big boulders hit the machine on National Highway-5 due to landslide at Nugelsari in Kinnaur district of the state, officials said.
After the fresh snowfall as per data available from the state Disaster Management Authority, 654 roads including four National Highways were closed, 1655 electricity supply schemes were hampered and 145 water supply schemes were also disrupted due to snowfall in the region.
The Revenue Minister of the state government Jagat Singh Negi said that one excavator vehicle driver was killed on the National Highway at Neugalsari in the Kinnaur district of the state after a big boulder hit the machine. Negi said that the body of the driver is yet to be retrieved.
The Minister said out of 654 roads closed in the state a total of 166 are in Shimla district, 158 in Mandi and 290 roads are closed in Lahaul Spiti and 29 are closed in Kinnaur district.
Earlier, an avalanche struck Lahaul's Tandi Bridge on Sunday, partially burying shops in the area. Fortunately, no casualties or major losses were reported in the incident. The incident prompted swift action from local authorities, who are assessing the damage and reinforcing safety measures.