11 August 2007
Shobhana Singh
Road accident
A Zee TV reporter was killed and two others were injured in a mudslide in Himachal Pradesh while driving to film a rare meteor shower, it was announced Sunday.
The victim has been identified as Shobhana Singh, 27, a senior correspondent. Her body has been recovered and attempts are being made to fly it out to Hindon air base on Delhi's outskirts, Indian Army spokesman Col. S.K. Sakhuja said. The cameraman and driver who were injured would also be flown out on the same aircraft, he added. The accident occurred Saturday evening when a two-vehicle Zee convoy, including an outside broadcast (OB) van, was on its way to Chandratal in the Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh to film a rare meteor shower that is visible from the spot. At Chhatru, some 40 km from Chandratal, the convoy encountered a landslide.
While the OB van managed to get across, the vehicle carrying Shobhana Singh and her two colleagues stalled. The driver then requested the other two to push the vehicle across, Sakhuja said. As they were doing so, a huge mudslide suddenly rolled down the mountainside.
The driver and the cameraman managed to jump to safety but the young woman wasn't so lucky, and the mudslide carried her and the vehicle down a 30-foot gorge. Defence Minister A.K. Antony was immediately informed and he directed the army and the air force to launch a rescue operation, the spokesman said. By then, however, night had fallen and it was raining, making it difficult to mount a rescue operation. As soon as day broke Sunday morning, Lt. Col. Ahlawat, who commands an army transit camp in the area, led a group of men to the spot and discovered the body between the vehicle and a boulder.
