| Manikaran, India | 18 Aug 2015 | Asia Samachar |
Seven people have been killed and several others trapped after a giant rock boulder hit a gurdwara complex at Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh, which has in the past attracted some Sikhs from Malaysia and Singapore.
Reports said seven bodies have been extricated from the four-storey building, located on the banks of Parvati river while search and rescue operation was in full swing at the site, according to local media reports.
The area has been cordoned off fearing more rock slips from the mountain. The boulder, which slipped from a nearby mountain, has smashed a rear portion of the gurdawara damaging a few floors. The incident occurred in the afternoon. Officials, however, said the main gurdwara is safe, according to Indian Express.
Sikhs from Malaysia and Singapore have visited Manikaran as part of their tour trip to Hemkunt, according to a Malaysian-based travel tour operator.
“The hot spring there is a major attraction. In the gurdwara, Guru ka Langgar is cooked in the hot spring. It’s really hot. That’s something to be witnessed,” said Baldev Singh of Leo Travel and Tours.
Another major attraction at the gurdwara is its hot cave. “Many go there to cure themselves of body pains, body aches related to blood circulation,” he tells Asia Samachar.
Baldev said the Sikh sanggat from India usually go to Manikaran during the hot summer season between June to August. It is about 280km from Chandigarh.
A few years back, a flash flood had caused extensive damage to the gurdwara, which was rebuilt. Thousands of pilgrims from Punjab and other northern states visit the gurdwara every month, the Indian Express report added.
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