Avalanche in HP's Kinnaur closes highway; snow blocks roads across state

Intermittent rains also lashed several parts of Himachal Pradesh, the weather department said.

An avalanche hit Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh on Thursday, leaving the Hindustan-Tibet road blocked, officials said.

The avalanche struck near Tinku nullah in Pooh and efforts to reopen the road (National Highway 5) are underway, they said.

According to the officials, snowfall in other parts of the state left 256 other roads, including four national highways, blocked.

National Highway (NH) 3 near Rohtang Pass, NH 305 near Jalori Pass, NH 505 from Gramphu to Lossar and NH 5 in Pooh were closed due to snowfall, the officials said.

At 137, the maximum number of roads were blocked in Lahaul and Spiti. Fifty-three roads were blocked in Chamba, 33 in Kullu, 13 in Shimla, six in Sirmaur, five in Kinnaur and Mandi each, they said.

Besides, 1,024 transformers were disrupted, they added.

Gondla received 20 cm of snow, Kothi 12 cm, Khadrala 10 cm, Keylong 9 cm, Keylong 8 cm, Kalpa 7 cm, Sangla 7 cm, Shillaroo and Tissa 5 cm each, according to the meteorological department.