Tragedy In Manali, Chaos In Lahaul-Spiti: 14-Year-Old On Vacation Swept Away, Glacier Melt Washes Away Road

A family vacation to Himachal Pradesh ended in tragedy after a 14-year-old girl from Uttar Pradesh was swept away by a strong stream in Manali. 

The victim, a 14-year-old girl from Bijnor, was visiting Manali with her family when she reportedly slipped into the fast-flowing Manalsu Nallah near the Club House area on Sunday afternoon. She was swept away by the powerful current before anyone could rescue her. 

After an extensive search operation lasting several hours, rescue teams recovered her body from the Beas River near the Volvo Bus Stand. Police shifted the body to Manali Hospital for post-mortem before handing it over to her family.  

Visuals from the spot that surfaced on X show the swollen mountain stream rushing through rocky terrain with an extremely strong current. Rescue personnel and local authorities can be seen carrying out search operations along the banks, while tourists and locals gather nearby. 

Following the incident, the local administration once agian urged tourists to avoid venturing close to rivers, streams and waterfalls, warning that water levels can rise suddenly during the monsoon season.  

Flash Floods In Lahaul-Spiti

In another incident, a sudden increase in glacier meltwater caused a flash flood-like situation in Jhalma Nallah in Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul-Spiti district on Monday afternoon, damaging a key road and stranding dozens of tourist vehicles.

The swollen nallah washed away a portion of the road connecting the remote region, leaving more than 50 tourist vehicles stranded. Officials said that there had been no rainfall in the area, and the sudden surge was caused entirely by glacier melt.

Lahaul-Spiti Superintendent of Police Shivani Mehla said that restoration work on the damaged road had begun and will be completed within a few hours. Once connectivity is restored, all stranded tourists will be evacuated safely.

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), along with the local administration, has been carrying out emergency restoration work to reopen the road at the earliest. Authorities said no casualties or injuries have been reported in the flash flood-like incident, and the situation is being closely monitored.