“Standing at the last point of India where civilians are allowed, ” posted Deepa Sharma, a 34-year-old Ayurvedic doctor from Rajasthan, with a photo from Himachal Pradesh. It was her last post. Within less than an hour, the vehicle she was travelling in was hit by a massive landslide and she was among the nine tourists who died in the accident.
Sharma, whose Twitter cover image says ‘Be the exception’, had been touring Himachal Pradesh and was in the mountainous Kinnaur district on Sunday when tragedy struck. In her last post at 12.59 pm, the doctor can be seen smiling as she posed for the photo at Nagasti ITBP check-post. According to reports, multiple landslides occurred near Basteri on Sangla-Chitkul road at 1.25 pm, in less than an hour after her post.
Also read: Flying rocks, bridge collapse: Himachal landslide horror caught on camera
The doctor’s timeline is full of posts from the Himacahal, where she can be seen posing against the picturesque backdrop of mountains and streams. “Life is nothing without mother nature,” she wrote in a post.
Sharma was reportedly travelling from Chitkul to Sangla in a tempo when boulders landed on their vehicle. There were 10 tourists and one driver, among whom eight died on the spot and four tourists rushed to hospital for treatment. Another commuter died on the spot.
A video clip that went viral soon after showed big boulders of rocks breaking off a mountain top and rolling down into the valley below. The footage released by Doordarshan news and news agency ANI showed rocks and heavy debris rolling down into the valley below causing a bridge to collapse.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed shock over the accident. “The landslide accident caused in Kinnaur of Himachal Pradesh is extremely saddening. I express my heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. All arrangements to treat those injured in the accident. I wish them a speedy recovery,” PM Modi tweeted in Hindi on Sunday.