Thirteen persons, including four women and a six-month-old child, were killed when a cab carrying passengers from Kullu to the remote Pangi Valley was buried under a massive landslide near Kaddu Nala on the Udaipur-Killar road in Lahaul on Friday. As the passengers were trapped under the debris, smoke was seen billowing from the buried vehicle.According to information, the vehicle, a Tata Sumo bearing registration number HP-01M-2210, was hit by a huge mass of debris and rocks that came crashing down from the hillside, completely burying the vehicle. The victims were believed to be residents of the tribal Pangi Valley in Chamba district.The passengers had reportedly stayed overnight at Tindi after the Udaipur-Killar road remained blocked due to a landslide on Thursday. They resumed their journey towards Pangi after the road, maintained by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), was reopened on Friday morning. Tragedy struck moments later when the hillside collapsed near Kaddu Nala.Lahaul SP Shivani Mehla confirmed that immediately after receiving information about the incident, policemen from Tindi, local administration officials and rescue teams rushed to the spot. She said, “A massive relief and rescue operation was launched. At first, the rescue teams managed to pull out one injured person from the debris. However, the injured succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital.”Rescue efforts for the remaining passengers continued, while debris clearance work was expedited using machines.The SP urged people to avoid travelling on landslide-prone routes during the ongoing spell of heavy rain and advised them to follow official advisories before undertaking journeys in the mountainous region.Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed grief over the loss of lives and directed the district administration to provide all possible assistance to the next of kin of the deceased. The government also reiterated its commitment to road safety and promised a thorough investigation into the circumstances leading to the tragedy.